/ 


HUGH   PETER. 

From  the  original  portrait  in  the  possession  of  C.  E.  Treffry,  Esquire, 
of  Place    Fowey,  Cornwall,  England. 


HUGH  PETER 


PREACHER,  PATRIOT,  PHILANTHROPIST 

FOURTH  PASTOR  OF  THE  FIRST  CHURCH 
IN  SALEM,  MASSACHUSETTS. 


"  I  have  lived  in  a  Country  where  in  seven 
years  I  never  saw  a  beggar,  nor  heard  an  oath, 
nor  looked  upon  a  drunkard." — God's  Doings 
and  Man's  Duty. — HUGH  PETER. 


H  flfcosafc 


PUT 

TOGETHER 
BY 


ELEANOR  BRADLEY  PETERS 

(MRS.  EDWARD  MCCLURE  PETERS) 


NEW  YORK 

Privately  printed 

1909 


FROM  VOLUME  xxxvni 

OF  THE  HISTORICAL  COLLECTIONS  OF  THE  ESSEX  INSTITUTE 
SALEM,  MASSACHUSETTS. 


WORDS  FROM  THE  WORKMAN. 

THE  workman  on  this  mosaic  has  tried,  bit  by  bit,  to 
build  up  a  portrait  and,  in  a  general  way,  a  life  of  this 
interesting  man.  The  result  is  necessarily  rough  and 
incomplete,  but  a  nicer  finish  would  only  amplify  without 
adding  value  to  these  pages.  The  end  in  view  was  not 
elaboration  or  beauty  of  style,  but  exactness,  and  a  near 
and  correct  sight  of  our  subject,  through  his  friends, 
acquaintances  and  himself.  Although  but  six  years  in 
this  country,  he  yet  left  a  lasting  stamp  of  his  own  work 
and  life  upon  New  England  ;  add  to  this  the  fact  that  to 
the  end  he  spoke  of  New  England  as  "home,"  and  we 
may  freely  claim  him  as  one  of  the  founders  of  our 
Commonwealth  and  common  country. 

The  workman  has  sought  to  sink  himself  in  his  subject, 
and  hardly  more  than  two  or  three  pages  are  in  his  own 
words  ;  all  else  is  in  the  language  of  others  ; —  as  far  as 
possible  in  the  words  of  those  who  lived  intimately,  or  at 
least  contemporaneously,  with  Hugh  Peter.  No  eulogy 
is  attempted,  facts  are  given  and  the  reader  can  weigh  for 
himself. 

A  man  of  Peter's  restless  and  varied  activity,  was 
certain  both  to  say  and  to  do  too  much  ;  of  this  he  himself 
was  fully  conscious,  and  at  the  last  deplored  his  lack  of 
judgment  and  excess  of  zeal ;  but  these  errors  stand  alone 
against  him,  He  did  a  vast  amount  of  real  and  far- 


iv  HUGH    PETER. 

reaching  good  during  his  life,  and  that  of  a  kind  little 
thought  of  in  those  days.  Indeed,  the  only  cause  one  can 
find  for  the  exceeding  and  venomous  hatred  displayed 
against  him,  lies  in  the  catholicity  of  his  thought,  feeling 
and  action,  and  in  his  remarkably  practical  and  common- 
sense  views  and  suggestions,  whereby  he  belonged,  in 
spirit,  if  not  in  body,  not  to  the  seventeenth  century,  but 
fully  to  our  own  day. 

The  compiler  is  indebted  to  the  papers  of  the  late 
Edmund  Fanning  Peters  for  certain  extracts  which  have 
been  used  in  this  article  and  which  it  might  have  been 
difficult  to  find  elsewhere.  The  portrait  of  Hugh  Peter  is 
due  to  the  courtesy  of  C.  E.  Treffry,  Esquire,  of  Place, 
Fowey,  Cornwall,  England.  The  Rev.  Sidney  Hubbell 
Treat  has  also,  through  the  loan  of  certain  interesting  old 
volumes,  contributed  to  these  pages. 

New  York,  March  1,  1902. 

E.  B.  P. 


HUGH  PETER 


This  edition  is  limited  to  one  hundred 

and  fifty  copies  on  hand-made 

paper,  for  the  author. 


HUGH  PBTBR 


159S-166O. 


"I  WAS  the  son  of  considerable  parents,  from  Fowey  in 
Cornwall,  my  father  a  merchant,  his  ancestors  driven 
thence  from  Antwerp  for  religion  —  I  mean  the  reformed  ; 
my  mother  of  the  same  town  of  a  very  ancient  family,  the 
name  Treffrey  of  Place, — or  the  place  in  that  town  of  which 
I  would  not  boast."  Thus  writes  Hugh  Dirkwood, 
otherwise  Hugh  Peter.  He  was  baptized  in  the  parish 
of  St.  Ewe,  in  Fowey,  the  entry  in  the  parish  record 
reading  thus :  "  Anno  RR.  Elizabeth  '41-Hugh  the  son 
of  Thomas  Dirkwood,  baptized  7th  June  1598,"  and  the 
accompanying  note  :  "  Otherwise  Hugh  Peters,  Chaplain 
and  adviser  to  Oliver  Cromwell ;  beheaded  by  Charles  II, 
on  Tower  Hill.  J.  J.  T."* 

He  was  the  third  child   and    second    son    of  Thomas 
Dirkwood  and  Martha  Treffrey,  she  being  a  descendant 
of  Sir  John  Treffrey  who,  in  the  14th  century,  defended 
Fowey  against   the   French.     Why  and   when   Thoma 
Dirkwood  changed  his  name  to  Peter  no  one  knows ;  bu 

*  Error :  he  was  hanged,  drawn  and  quartered  at  Charing  Cross.    The  initials 
are  supposed  to  be  those  of  the  Rev.  Justin  Treffrey,  and  the  date  1668-1698. 


2  HUGH   PETER : 

the  time  was  evidently  between  1599  and  1610;  perhaps 
about  the  period  that  Martha  Treffrey's  sister,  Deborah, 
marries  Henry  Peter,*  M.  P.  for  Fowey,  who  descended 
from  a  sister  of  the  Sir  William  Peter,  famous  as  having 
been  "  secretary  and  of  the  Privy  Council  to  four  kings 
and  queens  of  this  realm,  and  seven  times  ambassador 
abroad  in  foreign  lands."  He  was  also  appointed  one  of 
the  trustees  for  the  young  king,  in  the  will  of  Henry  VIII. 

Whatever  the  exact  status  of  the  Dirkwoods  towards 
the  Peters  it  is  certain  that  Hugh  Peter  assumed  not  only 
the  name  but  the  coat  of  arms  of  that  family.  Perhaps 
Henry  Peter,  M.  P.  for  Fowey,  is  the  uncle  he  mentions 
in  the  sketch  of  his  life  in  the  Last  Legacy. f 

"  These J  lived  in  very  great  abundance  ;  their  Losses 
at  Sea  grew  very  great ;  in  the  midst  of  which  Losses,  my 
elder  Brother  being  at  Oxford, §  I  was  sent  to  Cambridge, 
and  that  Estate  I  had  by  an  Uncle,  I  left  with  my  Mother, 
and  lived  at  the  University,  and  a  little  from  thence, 
about  eight  years ;  took  my  degree  of  Master  of  Arts, 
where  I  spent  some  years  vainly  enough,  being  but  14 
years  old  when  thither  I  came  ;  my  Tutor  died,  and  I  was 
expos'd  to  my  shifts." 

He  was  at  Trinity  College,  and  took  his  degree  of  B.A., 
in  1616.  In  1622,  he  received  the  degree  of  A.M.,  but 
to  continue  in  his  own  words :  "  Coming  from  thence 
[Cambridge],  at  London  God  struck  me  with  the  sense 
of  my  sinful  estate,  by  a  Sermon  I  heard  under  Pauls, 
which  is  about  40  years  since  [consequently  in  1620] 
which  Text  was  The  burden  of  Dumah,  or  Idumea,  and 
stuck  fast.  This  made  me  to  go  into  Essex  ;  And  after 
being  quieted  by  another  Sermon  in  that  Country,  and  the 
Love  and  Labours  of  Mr.  Thomas  Hooker,  I  there  Preacht, 
there  married  with  a  good  Gentlewoman,  till  I  went  to 
London  to  ripen  my  Studies,  not  intending  to  preach  at 
all ;  where  I  attended  Dr.  George  Sibs,  and  Davenports 
Ministry,  with  others,  and  I  hope  with  some  profit.  But 
in  short  time  was  forced  to  preach  by  importunity  of 

*  During  the  civil  war  Thomas  Peter,  son  of  Henry  Peter  and  Deborah  Treffry, 
was  on  the  royalist  side.  He  was  at  one  time  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower,  from  which 
he  was  rescued  through  the  influence  of  his  first  cousin,  Hugh  Peter. 

t  "  A  Dying  Father's  Last  Legacy  to  an  Only  Child." 

J  His  family.  §  Thomas. 


PREACHER,  PATRIOT,  PHILANTHROPIST.  3 

Friends,  having  had  a  Licence  from  Dr.  Mountain  Bishop 
of  London  before,  and  to  Sepulchers  I  was  brought  by  a 
very  strange  providence,  for  preaching  before  at  another 
place  and  a  young  man  receiving  some  good  would  not  be 
satisfied,  but  I  must  preach  at  Sepulchers  once  monthly 
for  the  good  of  his  Friends  ;  in  which  he  got  his  end  (if  I 
might  not  shew  vanity)  and  he  allowed  Thirty  pounds  per 
Annum  to  that  Lecture,  but  his  person  unknown  to  me : 
he  was  a  Chandler,  and  dyed  a  good  man,  and  Member  of 
Parliament.  At  this  Lecture  the  Resort  grew  so  great 
that  itcontracted  envie  and  anger  :  Though  I  believe  above 
an  hundred  every  week  were  perswaded  from  sin  to  Christ. 

I  wish  I  may  not  be  judged  for  saying  so  :  There  was 
six  or  seven  thousand  Hearers,  and  the  Circumstances  fit 
for  such  good  work.  But  I  am  tender ;  there  I  had  some 
trouble,  who  could  not  conform  to  all :  and  went  to 
Holland,  where  I  was  five  or  six  years,  not  without  the 
presence  of  God  in  my  Work ;  But  many  of  my 
Acquaintance  going  for  New  England  had  engaged  me  to 
come  to  them  when  they  sent,  which  accordingly  I  did  : 
And  truly  my  reason  for  myself  and  others  to  go,  was 
merely,  not  to  offend  Authority  in  the  difference  of 
Judgment ;  and  had  not  the  Book  for  Encouragement  of 
Sports  on  the  Sabbath  come  forth,  many  had  staid.  That 
good  man,  my  dear  firm  Friend,  Mr.  White  of  Dorchester, 
and  Bishop  Lake,  occasioned,  yea,  founded  that  Work, 
and  much  in  reference  to  the  Indians,  of  which  we  did  not 
fail  to  attempt,  with  good  success  to  many  of  their  souls 
through  God's  blessing.  See  Bishop  Lake's  Sermon, 
1  King,  8.37.  who  profest  to  Mr.  White  of  Dorchester, 
he  would  go  himself  with  us,  but  for  his  age,  for  which 
he  had  the  late  King's  gracious  Patent,  Licence  and 
Encouragement.  There  I  continued  seven  years."* 

Felt's  memoir  of  Peter  states  that  he  prayed  for  the 
Queen  at  St.  Sepulcher's,  saying  *'  that  as  she  came  into 
the  Goshen  of  safety,  so  the  light  of  Goshen  might  shine 
into  her  soul,  and  that  she  might  not  perish  in  the  day  of 
Christ."  This  came  to  Laud's  ears  who  forbade  Peter's 

*  Quotations  are  made  exactly  as  found,  though  many  are  so  confusedly 
expressed  and  so  bristle  with  pronouns  that  they  are  sadly  In  need  of  order  and 
clearness.  The  compiler,  however,  dares  not  meddle  with  them. 


4  HUGH    PETER : 

ministry  and  had  him  confined  in  the  New  Prison  for 
"  some  time  before  any  articles  were  exhibited  against  him. 
Though  certain  noblemen  offered  bail  for  him  it  was 
refused." 

In  1627,  Aug.  17,  before  going  to  Holland,  being 
suspected  of  heterodoxy,  "he  subscribed  a  submission  and 
protestation  addressed  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  setting 
forth  his  admission  to  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the 
English  government  and  his  acceptance  of  the  episcopal 
government."* 

He  was  one  of  the  earliest  members  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  Company.  In  May,  1628,  he  subscribed  to  the  joint 
stock  of  the  Plantation,  and  he  was  one  of  the  fourteen  who 
signed  the  first  instructions  to  Endecott,  Sept.  13,  1628. 
He  also  attended  the  Courts  of  the  Company,  held  on  the 
llth  and  13th  of  May,  1629. 
List  of  Subscribers.  "  In  the  name  of  god  [sic]  Amen. 

London,  May,  1628. 

Sundrie  men  owe  vnto  the  general  stock  of  the 
adventurers  for  plantacon  intended  att  Massachusetts  Bay 
in  New  England,  in  America  the  some  of  tow  thousand 
one  hundreth  and  fiftie  pound.  And  is  for  soe  much 
vnderteken  by  the  pticuler  persons  menconed  hereafter, 
by  there  seuerall  and  generall  stock  for  the  aforesaid 
plantacon.  Subscripcons  to  be  by  them  adventured.  In 
this  point,  where  vnto  the  Almighty  grant  prosperous  and 
happie  Success,  that  the  same  may  redound  to  his  glorie, 
the  propagation  of  the  Gospell  of  Christ,  and  the  particular 
good  of  the  seuerall  Adventurers,  that  now  are  or  hereafter 
shall  be  Interested  therein.  The  persons  nowe  to  be  made 
debtors  to  the  generall  Stock  being  as  followeth : 

Sr.  Kich'd  Saltonstall,  Knt,  oweth  100  £ 

Mr  Isacke  Johnson  Esqr  100 

Mr  Samuel  Aldersey  50 

John  Venn  50 

Hugh  Peter  50" 

[and  others.] 

Letter  from  Mathew  Cradock  to  Capt.  John  Endecott, 
r<  from  my  house  in  Swithens  Lane  neare  London  stone 

*  Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 


PREACHER,  PATRIOT,  PHILANTHROPIST.  5 

this  16th  February,  1628-9.  .  .  .  But  for  Mr  Peters, 
he  is  now  in  Holland  from  whence  his  return  hither  I  hold 
to  be  uncertain." 

In  Holland,  Peter  was  pastor  of  an  Independent  church 
in  Rotterdam.  There  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  John 
Forbes,  a  noted  Presbyterian  divine,  with  whom  he 
travelled  into  Germany  to  see  Gustavus  Adolphus,  and 
of  Sir  Edward  Harwood,  an  English  commander  in  the 
Dutch  service,  who  fell  at  the  siege  of  Maestricht  in  1652. 
It  seems  probable  that  he  was  Sir  Edward's  secretary."* 
Sir  William  Brereton,  who  visited  Rotterdam  in  1634, 
describes  Peter  as  a  "right  zealous  and  worthy  man,"  and 
states  that  he  was  paid  a  salary  of  5000  guilders  by  the 
Dutch  government,  f 

On  leaving  Holland,  he  returned  to  England  and  sailed 
from  Plymouth,  in  July,  1635,  in  company  with  the 
younger  Winthrop,  Vane,  and  others,  in  the  "Abigail." 
Gov.  Winthrop,  in  his  Journal,  says  :  "  Mo  8,  6 — arrived 
the  Defence  &  the  Abigail,  ten  weeks  from  Plymouth  with 
two  hundred  and  eighty  persons  and  many  cattle  infected 
also  with  small  pox ;"  in  spite  of  which  no  deaths  occurred. 

Speaking  of  Peter's  arrival,  Winthrop  says  :  "Amongst 
others  came  Mr.  Peter,  pastor  of  the  English  church  in 
Rotterdam  who  being  persecuted  by  the  English 
ambassador, — who  would  have  brought  his  and  other 
churches  to  the  English  discipline,  and  not  having  had 
his  health  these  many  years,  intended  to  advise  with  the 
ministers  here  about  his  removal." 

That  he  was  pursued  while  in  England  is  evident  from 
a  letter  Samuel  Reade  (step-son  of  Peter)  writes  to  John 
Winthrop,  jr.,  from  London  Aug.  2,  1635,  saying  that  he 
is  thankful  "  alsoe  for  my  father's  [Peter's]  escape  out  o 
cruell  bands.  We  learn  if  you  had  stayed  but  2  dayes 
longer  my  father  would  scarcely  have  avoided  them  for 
they  bad  taken  an  extraordinary  cunning  course  for  his 
attachment." 

"Thisyeere  [1635]  came  over  the  Famous  servant  of 
Christ  Mr  Hugh  Peters  whose  courage  was  not  inferior  to 
any  of  these  transported  servants  of  Christ,  but  because 

*  Dictionary  of  National  Biography;  Harleian  Miscellany. 
Travels  of  Sir  William  Brereton. 


6  HUGH  PETER: 

his  native  Soile  hath  had  the  greatest  share  of  his  labours, 
the  lesse  will  be  said  of  him  here : 

With  courage  bold  Peters  a  Souldier  stout 
In  Wildernesse  for  Christ  begins  to  war, 
Much  worke  he  finds  'mongst  people,  yet  hold  out ; 
With  fluent  tongue  he  stops  phantastick  jars. 
Swift  Torrent  stayes  of  liberties  large  vent ; 
Through  crooked  wayes  of  error  daily  flowing, 
Shiloe's  soft  streames  to  bath  in  would  all  bent ; 
Should  he  while  they  in  Christian  freedome  growing, 
But  back  thou  must,  thy  Talents  Christs  will  have, 
Improved  for  him,  his  glory  is  thy  crowne, 
And  thou  base  dust  while  he  thee  honour  gave ; 
It  matters  not  though  the  world  on  thee  do  Frowne."* 

Within  a  few  weeks  of  his  arrival,  "Mr.  Hugh  Peters 
preaching  at  Boston  &  Salem  moved  the  country  to  raise 
a  stock  for  fishing  as  the  only  probable  means  to  free  us 
from  that  oppression  which  the  seamen  and  others  hold  us 
under."f  Two  mouths  later  (January,  1635-6)  we  find 
him  going  from  place  to  place  intent  on  this  same  work, 
"  and  so  prevailed  as  he  procured  a  good  sum  of  money  to 
be  raised  to  set  on  foot  the  fishing  business  to  the  value  of 
[  ]  and  wrote  into  England  to  raise  as  much  more. 

The  interest  was  to  set  up  a  magazine  of  all  provisions  & 
other  necessaries  for  fishing  that  men  might  have  things 
at  hand  &  for  reasonable  prices  whereas  now  the 
merchants  &  seamen  took  advantage  to  sell  at  most 
excessive  rates,  in  many  things  two  for  one  &c."J 

April  26,  1636,  "The  Charity  of  Dartmouth  of  120  tons 
arrived  laden  with  provisions.  Mr.  Peters  bought  all  the 
provisions  at  50  in  the  100  (which  saved  the  country 
£200)  &  distributed  them  to  all  the  towns  as  each  town 
needed. "| 

Mar.  3,  1635-6,  Peter  was  admitted  freeman,  with 
Vane,  Shepherd,  Rogers,  Harlakenden  and  others. 

Winthrop  calls  him  "a  man  of  a  very  public  spirit  & 
singular  activity  for  all  occasions,"  and  adds  that  he  "went 

*  Wonder-working  Providence  of  Sion's  Saviour.  Being  a  Relation  of  the  first 
planting  In  New  England  in  the  yeere  1628.— Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  2nd  series,  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  164. 

fWinthrop's  Journal,  Nov.  26,  1636. 

I  Winthrop's  Journal. 


PREACHER,  PATRIOT,  PHILANTHROPIST.  7 

from  place  to  place  laboring  both  publicly  and  privately 
to  raise  up  men  to  a  better  frame  of  spirit." 

That  Peter  came  to  New  England  without  any  definite 
resolution  to  remain  here  is  evident  from  the  following 
letter  from  Samuel  Reade  to  John  Winthrop,  jr. 

London,  March  5,  1635-6.  "We  wonder  we  haue  noe 
certaine  information  whether  my  father  Peter  intendeth 
to  stay  with  you,  or  to  returne.  It  is  necessary  it  should 
speedily  be  determined  of,  that  his  church  may  know 
how  to  dispose  of  themselues.  Mr.  Davenport  supplyeth 
his  place  yet."* 

Writing  to  his  son,  1636,  2mo.  26,  Winthrop  says 
"The  Lord  in  much  mercy  sent  us  a  ship  the  12  of  this 
present  with  provisions  but  she  had  put  in  at  Pascataqua 
&  sold  much  there  ;  for  she  brought  only  39  hogsheads  of 
meal,  25  of  peas,  8  of  oatmeal,  40  of  malt  &  some  beef  & 
prunes  &  aqua  vitae,  &  18,000  of  [unknown].  My 
brother  Peter  bought  it  all  &  divided  it  amongst  the"f 

["about  16  lines  are  gone,"  says 

Savage,  "the  paper  being  thin."]  Is  this  the  same  as  the 
"Charity"  referred  to  above  ? 

When  provisions  are  sent  in  the  Rebecca  to  the 
"Governor  of  the  Plantation  upon  the  mouth  of  the 
Connecticut,"  amongst  others  is  found  "a  hogshead  of 
pork  which  my  brother  Peter  puts  in."J 

The  same  year,  shortly  after  their  arrival,  "Mr.  Vane 
and  Mr.  Peter  finding  some  distraction  in  the  Common- 
wealth arising  from  difference  in  judgment  and  withal 
some  alienation  of  affection  among  the  magistrates  and 
some  other  persons  of  quality  and  that  hereby  factions 
began  to  grow  among  the  other  people,  some  adhering  more 
to  the  old  governour,  Mr.  Winthrop,  and  others  to  the  late 
governour  Mr.  Dudley,  the  former  carrying  matters  with 
more  lenity  and  the  latter  with  more  severity — they 
procured  a  meeting  at  Boston  of  the  governour,  Deputy, 
Mr.  Cotton,  Mr.  Hooker,  Mr.  Wilson,  and  there  was 
present  Mr.  Winthrop,  Mr.  Dudley  and  themselves. "J: 
The  result  was  a  desire  among  the  clergy  that  Mr. 
Winthrop  should  be  more  severe,  in  the  future,  in  his 

*  Mans.  Hist.  Coll.,  5th  series,  Vol.  I,  p.  217.  fWinthrop'a  Journal,  p .  456 

t  Wlnthrop'8  Journal. 


8  HUGH  PETER: 

dealings  with  transgressors  against  the  law,  and  ten 
articles  were  drawn  to  this  effect. 

May  25,  1636.  "The  Gounr,  Deputy  Gounr,  Tho : 
Dudley,  John  Haynes,  Rich  Bellinghara  Esq,  Mr  Cotton, 
Mr  Peter  and  Mr.  Shepheard  are  in  treated  to  make  a 
draught  of  lawes  agreeable  to  the  word  of  God,  wch  may 
be  the  ffundamentalls  of  the  Comonwealth  &  to  present 
the  same  to  the  nexte  Genall  Court."* 

In  1636,  Mo.  3,  15,  "Mr.  Peters  preaching  at  Boston 
made  an  earnest  request  to  the  church  for  four  things — 1. 
That  they  would  spare  their  teacher  Mr.  Cotton  for  a 
time  that  he  might  go  through  the  Bible  and  raise 
marginal  notes  upon  all  the  knotty  places  of  the  scripture. 
2.  That  a  new  book  of  martyrs  might  be  made  to  begin 
where  the  other  had  left.  3.  That  a  form  of  church 
government  might  be  drawn  according  to  the  scriptures. 
4.  That  they  take  order  for  employment  of  people 
especially  women  and  children  in  the  winter  time ;  for 
he  feared  that  idleness  would  be  the  ruin  both  of  church 
and  commonwealth  :f 

"10-4  mo.  1636.  "Mr.  Fenwick  .  .  .  intends 
about  a  month  hence  with  my  brother  Peter  to  be  with 
you." — Winthrop  to  his  son  John  Winthrop,  Gov.  of  the 
Plantation  at  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut.! 

1636.  4  mo.  23. —  "  Mr.  Fenwick,  my  brother  Peter  &c. 
set  forth  on  horseback  on  the  27  of  this  month  and  will 
expect  your  shallop  at  the  upper  town  to  carry  them  down 
the  river  and  so  will  join  Mr.  Peirce's  pinnace  to  Long 
Island,  Hudson's  River,  &c.,"  writes  Winthrop  to  his  son. 

This  journey  was  doubtless  owing  to  the  fact  that  Sir 
Harry  Vane  and  Hugh  Peter  "  were  associated  with 
Winthrop  by  the  patentees  of  Connecticut,  in  the  agency 
for  the  management  of  their  estate.  The  three  made 
proclamation  of  the  rights  of  their  principals  and  required 
a  recognition  of  them  on  the  part  of  the  emigrants  to 
that  region."  Peter  being  so  well  viewed  by  the  Dutch 
took  the  journey  to  reconcile  the  disputes  between  them 
and  the  English.  J 

*  Records  of  Mass.  Bay  Colony.  t  Wlnthrop's  Journal. 

J  This  Journey  of  Hugh  Peter's  is  undoubtedly  the  foundation  of  the  statement 
made  by  several  writers  that  Thomas  Peter  was  in  Connecticut  in  1636.  I  can 
find  no  evidence  of  Thomas  being  in  this  country  prior  to  1646. 


PREACHER,  PATRIOT,  PHILANTHROPIST.  9 

"In  the  year  1635,  I,  Lion  Gardener,  Engineer  and 
Master  of  works  of  Fortification  in  the  legers  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  in  the  Low  Countries,  through  the 
persuasion  of  Mr.  John  Davenport,  Mr.  Hugh  Peters  with 
some  other  well-affected  Englishmen  of  Rotterdam,  I 
made  an  agreement  with  the  forenamed  Mr.  Peters  for 
£100  per  annum,  for  four  years,  to  serve  the  company 
of  patentees,  namely,  the  Lord  Say,  the  Lord  Brooks 
[Brook],  Sir  Arthur  Hazilrig,  Sir  Mathew  Bonnington 
[Bonighton  ?] ,  Sir  Richard  Saltingstone  [Saltonstall], 
Esquire  Fenwick,  and  the  rest  of  their  company,  [I  say] 
I  was  to  eerve  them  only  in  the  drawing,  ordering  and 

making  of  a  city,  town,  or  forts  of  defence Mr 

Wintbrop,  Mr  Fenwick,  and  Mr  Peters  persuaded  me 
that  they  would  do  their  utmost  endeavour  to  persuade 
the  Bay-men  to  desist  from  war  a  year  or  two,  till  we  could 
be  better  provided  for  it  ... 

So  they  returned  to  Boston.  But  our  great 
expectation  [of  having  many  laborers  sent  to  him]  at 
the  River's  mouth,  came  only  to  two  men,  viz.  Mr  Fenwick 
and  his  man,  who  came  with  Mr  Hugh  Peters,  and  Mr 
Oldham  and  Thomas  Stanton,  bringing  with  them  some 
Otter-skin  coats,  and  Beaver  and  skeins  of  wampum."* — 
Pequot  Warres,  by  Lion  Gardener. 

That  they  were  not  long  gone  is  evident  from  the 
following : — "  1636,  Mo.  5,  6.  Many  ships  lying  ready  at 
Natascott  to  sail  Mr.  Peter  went  down  and  preached 
aboard  the  Hector  and  the  ships  going  forth  met  an  east 
wind  which  put  them  in  again  ;  whereupon  he  staied  and 
kept  the  sabbath  with  them.f" 

Dec.  21,  1636.  Having  preached  acceptably  at  Salem 
he  is  made  pastor  there,  joining  the  church,  Jan.  8,  1636, 
O.  S.  His  name  stands  first  in  the  records  of  admission 
to  full  communion,  8/11,  1636,  the  year  ending  March, 
1637.  He  was  their  fourth  minister,  Higginson  and  Skelton 
having  died  and  Roger  Williams  having  been  removed  in 
November.  The  church  at  Saugus  (Lynn)  had  wished  to 
have  him  but  he  preferred  Salem.  This  same  year, 
1636,  he  was  granted  300  acres  at  Jeffreys  Creek  now 

*  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  3rd  seri«s,  Vol.  m,  p.  136. 
t  Wintbrop'8  Journal. 


10  HUGH   PETER  : 

Manchester.  He,  and  Captain  Endecott,  each  had  two 
acres  at  the  west  end  in  Salem  bordering  upon  Captain 
Trask  and  father  Wood  bury 's  lot. 

"June  15th  1636.  Laid  out  to  Mr.  Peters  150  acres  of 
land  by  order  from  the  selectmen  bounded  southerly  by 
the  land  of  the  farm  of  Porter  and  land  commonly  called 
Joshua  Rea's  land  easterly  with  ye  land  of  William 
Kaimonts  to  a  bound  tree  at  the  northwest  corner  of  ye 
said  Raimont's  land  northerly  with  the  land  of  Nathan 
and  Jno.  Putnam,  westerly  with  a  little  river  or  brooke 
until  it  meets  with  Joshua  Reas  land  bounds  and  then 
buttes  upon  his  land  until  it  comes  to  the  bound  tree  yt 
belongs  to  farmer  Porter  and  Josh  Rae."* 

March  12,  1637.  "Capt.  Sedgwick,  John  Johnson,  and 
Mr.  Robt.  Keayne  are  desired  to  speak  with  Mr  Peters, 
and  Mr  Peirce  about  the  Price  of  the  coates  and  urines 
which  the  country  had  last  summer. "f 

In  1637,  Hugh  Peter  writes  to  John  Winthrop  :  "  Wee 
haue  heard  of  a  dividence  of  women  and  children  in  the 
bay  and  would  bee  glad  of  a  share  viz :  a  young  woman 
or  girle  and  a  boy  if  you  thinke  good  [these  were  Pequot 
captives] .  I  wrote  to  you  for  some  boys  for  Bermudas 
which  I  thinke  is  considerable.  Besides  wee  are  bold  to 
impart  our  thoughts  about  the  corne  at  Pequoit  which  wee 
wish  were  all  cut  down,  or  left  to  the  Naragansicks  rather 
than  for  vs  to  take  it,  for  wee  feare  it  will  proue  a  snare 
thus  to  hunt  after  their  goods  whilst  wee  come  forth 
pretending  only  the  doing  of  justice,  and  wee  beleeue  it 
would  strike  more  terror  into  the  Indians  so  to  doe  :  It 
will  quit  cost  to  vs  to  keepe  it." 

"The  23d  of  this  7th  mo  1637  Mr  Hugh  Peter  delivred 
into  the  Court  a  deed  of  Mr  Robert  Saltonstall,  makeing 
over  all  the  estate  that  hee  hath,  or  shall  have,  to  satisfy 
his  creditors. "f 

Nov.  20, 1637.  "  For  the  colledge,  the  Governour,  Mr 
Winthrope,  the  Deputy,  Mr  Dudley,  the  Treasurer,  Mr 
Bellingham,MrHumfrey,  Mr  Harlakenden,  Mr  Staughton, 
Mr  Cotton,  Mr  Wilson,  Mr  Damport,  Mr  Wells,  Mr 
Sheopard  and  Mr  Peters,  these,  or  the  greater  part  of 
them,  whereof  Mr  Wiuthrop,  Mr  Dudley,  or  Mr 

*  Salem  Town  Records-  t  Records  of  Mass.  Bay  Colony. 


PREACHER,  PATRIOT,  PHILANTHROPIST.  11 

Belliugham  to  bee  always  one,  to  take  order  for  a  colledge 
at  Newtowne."  This  was  the  founding  of  Harvard  College, 
and  May  2,  1638,  "It  is  ordered  that  Newtowne  shall 
hereafterward  be  called  Cambridge."* 

Nov.,  1637.  "  Mr  Dunkaen  and  Increase  No  well  were 
appointed  to  take  Mr  Peters  his  account  between  this  and 
the  next  Courte."* 

Dec.,  1637.  Peters  reproved  Vane,  then  governor, 
because  of  his  expressing  dislike  to  a  meeting  of  Cotton 
and  the  elders  about  differences  of  opinion  ;  Peter  adds 
"that  the  Ministers  are  saddened  by  his  jealousy  of  their 
deliberations  and  his  apparent  inclination  to  restrain  their 
liberty."  The  governor  apologized. f 

Mar.  12,  1638  .  .  .  "this  Court  hath  therefore 
ordered  that  the  freemen  of  every  towne  (or  some  part 
thereof  chosen  by  the  rest)  wthin  this  Jurisdiction  shall 
assemble  together  in  their  severall  townes,  and  collect  the 
heads  of  such  necessary  and  fundamental  laws  as  may  bee 
sutable  to  the  times  and  places  whear  God  by  his  Pvidence 
hath  cast  us,  &  the  heads  of  such  lawes  to  deliver  in 
writing  to  the  Governor  for  the  time  being  before  the  5th 
day  of  the  4th  month  called  June,  next,  to  the  intent  that 
the  same  Governor,  together  with  the  rest  of  the  standing 
councell,  &  Mr  Richard  Bellingham  Esq,  Mr  Bulkley,  Mr 
Phillips,  Mr.  Peters,  and  Mr  Sheopard  .  .  .  [and 
others]  may  vpon  the  survey  of  such  heads  of  lawes, 
make  a  compendious  abridgment  of  the  same  for  the 
Generall  Court."*  .  .  . 

March  12,  1638.  "  Whereas  there  hath  been  divers 
complaints  made  concerning  oppsion  in  wages,  in  prizes 
of  comodities,  in  smiths  worke,  in  excessive  prizes  for 
the  worke  of  draughts  and  teames  and  the  like,  to  the 
great  dishonour  of  God,  the  scandoll  of  the  gosple  &  the 
greife  of  divers  of  God's  people  .  .  .  the  Court 
.  hath  ordered  it,  that  it  shall  bee  onely  considered 
by  Mr  Endecott,  Mr  Bellingham,  Mr  Harlakenden,  Mr 
Staughton,  Mr  Peters,  Mr  Noise,  [and  twenty  more] 
whom  the  Court  hath  desired  in  that  perticoler  &  to 
bring  into  the  next  Generall  Court  their  thoughts  for  the 
remediing  of  the  same."* 

*  Records  of  Mass.  Bay  Colony. 

t  Felt's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  New  England. 


12  HUGH  PETER: 

In  1638,  the  town  of  Salem  paid  Mr.  Peter  for  "weights, 
beame  and  scales." 

About  1637  or  1638,  Peter's  first  wife  dies,  probably  in 
England,  for  in  March  6,  1636-7,  a  letter  says  :  "Mrs. 
Peters  is  yet  in  Holland  and  James  Downinge  with  her, 
but  we  now  daily  expect  them."  Mrs.  Peter,  the 
gentlewoman  to  whom  Peter  refers  in  his  "Last  Legacy," 
was  Mistress  Reade,  widow  of  Col.  Edmund  Reade,  of 
Essex,  England,  and  is  said  to  have  been  the  daughter  of 
Thomas  Cooke  of  Pebmarsh.  She  seems  to  have  been 
Reade's  second  wife  and  was  apparently  much  older  than 
Peter.  Her  name  was  Elizabeth.  Her  husband  died  in 
or  about  1624,  and  she  soon  after  married  Peter. 

Colonel  Reade's  children  were,  as  nearly  as  I  have  been 
able  to  discover:* 

1.  Edmund,  born  1595  ;  died  young. 

2.  William;  died  1659. 

3.  Samuel. 

4.  Edmund,  born  1604;  died  1613. 

5.  Thomas,  the  youngest  son,  died  Dec.,  1677;    he 
was  a  Colonel  in  the  Parliamentary  army  and  Governor  of 
Stirling,  and  was  associated  with  Monk  at  the  Restoration. 

6.  Margaret,    died,    1672,    in   Ipswich,    Mass. ;    she 
married  John  Lake,  presumably  in  England. 

7.  Martha,  died,  1662,  in  Ipswich,  Mass. ;  married 
(1st)  Daniel  Epps,  in  England ;   (2nd)  Samuel  Symonds. 

8.  Elizabeth,  baptized  November  27,  1614;  married 
John  Winthrop,  jr.,  in  England,  in  1635,  and  their  first 
child  Elizabeth,  is  baptized  in  July,  1636. 

John  Winthrop's  second  wife,  Elizabeth  Reade,  was  the 
mother  of  all  his  children  and  came  to  this  country  with 
him.  The  elder  Winthrop,  after  this  marriage,  always 
refers  to  his  son's  father-in-law  as  "  my  brother  Peter." 
This  was  customary  at  the  time  as  is  evidenced  by 
Cromwell's  addressing  Richard  Mayor, —  whose  daughter 
married  Richard  Cromwell,  —  as  "Dear  brother"  and 
w  Loving  brother. "I 

In  April,  1638,  we  first  hear  of  the  person  who  was  to 
be  Peter's  second  wife  :  Upon  the  12th  day  of  the  month 
Peter's  church  together  with  the  others,  "  kept  a  solemn 

*  They  may  not  be  arranged  in  the  order  of  their  birth,  the  dates  being  mostly 
unknown ;  but  Elizabeth  appears  to  be  the  youngest  daughter, 
t  Cromwell's  Correspondence. 


PREACHER,  PATRIOT,  PHILANTHROPIST.  13 

fast-day  for  divine  deliverance  from  the  threatening  evil 
of  a  general  governor  for  the  colonies  and  the  consequent 
dissolution  of  their  charter  privileges  and  the  loss  of  all 
their  religious  liberty."  The  next  day  Peter  writes  thus 
to  Winthrop : 

"  To  the  noble  Gouernour  in  Boston  ; 

Hon.  Sir, — I  much  thanke  you  for  yours,  and  together 
am  sorry  for  the  sickness  of  our  frends.  I  am  still 
troublesome  to  you.  I  haue  sent  Mrs  D.  Sh.*  letter  which 
puts  mee  to  new  trouble,  for  though  she  takes  liberty 
upon  my  Cossen  Dowuing's  speeches,  yet  (Good  Sir)  let 
mee  not  bee  a  foole  in  Israel.  I  had  many  good  answers 
to  yesterday's  worke  and  amongst  the  rest  her  letter : 
which  (if  her  owne)  doth  argue  more  wisdome  than  I 
thought  shee  had.  You  haue  often  sayd  I  could  not  leaue 
her;  what  to  do  is  very  considerable.  Could  I  with 
comfort  and  credit  desist,  this  seemes  best ;  could  I  goe  on, 
and  content  my  selfe,  that  were  good  ;  my  request  is,  that 
this  bearer  my  hart's  halfe  may  well  observe  what  is  best. 
For  though  I  now  seeme  free  agayne  yet  the  depth  I  know 
not.  Had  shee  come  ouer  with  mee  I  thinke  I  had  bin 
quieter.  This  shee  may  know,  that  I  haue  sought  God 
earnestly,  for  the  next  weeke,  I  shall  bee  riper : 

1  doubt  shee  gaynes  most  by  such  writings ;  and  shee 
deserues  most  where  shee  is  further  of.  My  very  hart  is 
with  you  and  I  am 

Yours  euer        H  :  Peter 

If  you  shall  amongst  you  advise  mee  to  write  to  hir  I 
shall  forthwith,  our  towne  lookes  vpon  mee  as  contracted 
and  so  I  haue  sayd  my  selfe  what  wonder  the  changef 
would  make  I  know  not." 

Extract  from  letter  of  Endecott  to  John  Winthrop  : — 

April  13,  1638.  "I  cannot  but  acquaint  yow  with  my 
thoughts  concerning  Mr  Peter,  since  hee  receaued  a  letter 
from  Mrs  Sheffield,  which  was  yesterday  in  the  eveninge 
after  the  fast ;  shee  seeming  in  her  letter  to  abate  of  her 
affeccions  towards  him,  and  dislikinge  to  come  to  Salem 
vppon  such  terms  as  hee  had  written.  I  finde  that  [s]hee 
begins  now  to  play  her  parte,  and  if  I  mistake  not,  you  will 

*  Deliverance  Sheffield. 

t  "  Charge  "  was  printed,  but  evidently  a  mistake. 


14  HUGH   PETER  : 

see  him  as  greatly  in  loue  with  her  (if  shee  will  but  hold 
a  little)  as  euer  shee  was  with  him ;  but  hee  conceals  it 
what  hee  can  as  yett.  The  begininge  of  the  next  weeke 
you  will  heare  further  from  him  "*.... 

Later,  Peter  again  writes  to  Winthrop  : — "  Sir  ...  I 
know  not  well  whither  Mrs  Sh.  haue  set  mee  at  liberty  or 
not ;  my  conclusion  is,  that  if  you  find  I  cannot  make  an 
honorable  retreat  then  I  shall  desire  to  advance  .  .  . 

Once  more  for  Mrs  Sh.  I  had  from  Mr  Hibbens  and 
others,  her  fellow  passengers,  sad  discouragement,  where 
they  saw  her  in  her  trim"  .  .  . 

Poor  woman,  probably  very  seasick,  and  sadly  out  of 
trim,  but  very  likely  no  worse  than  her  fellow  passengers. 

Emanuel  Downing  writes  to  Winthrop  in  1638  : — "  My 
Cosen  P.  is  constant  to  his  dayly  charge,  soe  that  all  his 
friends  are  resolved  to  leave  him  to  his  owne  way,  yet 
blessed  be  God  his  preaching  is  verie  profitable  and 
comfortable  to  all." 

August  or  September,  1638,  Francis  Weston,  an 
advocate  of  Williams,  complains  of  Mr  Peter  of  the  Salem 
church,  as  not  being  allowed  to  ask  questions  in  time  of 
public  worship.  He  also  objects  that  the  wife  of  Peter 
and  others  who  came  from  Rotterdam  after  he  did,  had 
been  received  as  members  of  his  church  at  Salem  though 
they  brought  no  letters  of  recommendation.  | 

This  approximately  places  Peter's  marriage  to 
Deliverance  Sheffield,  of  whom  we  know  only  that  she 
joined  the  church  in  Boston,  March  10,  1639,  and  was 
dismissed  to  the  church  in  Salem,  Jan.  2,  1640. 

Nov.  12,  1638.  He  had  230  acres  of  land  granted  him, 
in  addition  to  50  more  at  the  head  of  Forest  River,  granted 
him  the  previous  year,  part  of  which  bears  his  name  to 
this  very  day.  J 

Dec.  6,  1638.  He  was  present  at  the  execution  in 
Boston,  of  Dorothy  Talby,  she  being  of  his  congregation 
in  Salem .  The  unfortunate  woman ,  suffering  from  religious 
mania,  had  murdered  one  of  her  children.  This  form  of 
insanity  was  entirely  misunderstood  in  those  days. 

*  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  4th  series,  Vol.  VII,  p.  157. 
t  Felt's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  New  England. 
t  Felt's  Memoir  of  Hugh  Peters. 


REPRODUCTION  OF  A  LETTER  WRITTEN    BY  HUGH   PETER. 
From   Massachusetts  Archives,   Vol.  ccxl,  page  33. 


PREACHER,  PATRIOT,  PHILANTHROPIST.  15 

He  was  a  witness,  though  a  somewhat  reluctant  one, 
against  Mrs  Hutchinson,  and  took  little  part  in  that  affair. 

May  22,  1639.  Mr  Peter  is  desired  to  write  to  Holland 
for  £500  worth  of  salt  peter,  and  £40  worth  of  match.* 

June  6,  1639.  He  is  granted  five  hundred  acres  of 
land  by  the  Court. 

June  19th.  Granted  to  Mr  Peters  the  Marsh  lyiugover 
against  his  now  dwelling  containing  about  one  and  one- 
half  acres  or  thereabouts  on  the  other  side  of  the  water. 

Peter  writes  to  the  church  at  Dorchester  :| 

"  Salem-1-5-39.  Reuerend  and  deerly  beloued  in  the 
lord,  wee  thought  it  oure  bounden  duty  to  acquaynt  you 
with  the  names  of  such  persons  as  haue  had  the  great 
censure  past  vpon  them  in  this  our  church,  with  the 
reasons  thereof;  Beseeching  you  in  the  lord  not  only  to 
reade  their  names  in  publicke  to  yours,  but  also  to  giue 
vs  the  like  notice  of  any  dealt  with  in  like  manner  by  you, 
that  so  wee  may  walke  towards  them  accordingly ;  for 
some  of  vs  here  haue  had  communion  iguorantly  with  such 
as  haue  bin  cast  out  of  other  churches. 

2  Thes :  3,  14.  wee  can  do  no  lesse  than  haue  such 
noted  as  disobey  the  truth. 

Roger  Williams  and  his  wife,  John  Throckmorton  and 
his  wife,  Thomas  Olney  and  his  wife,  Stukeley  Westcot 
and  his  wife,  Mary  Halliman  and  Widow  Reeues.  These 
wholy  refused  to  heare  the  church,  denying  it  and  all  the 
churches  in  the  Bay  to  bee  true  Churches  and  (except  two) 
are  all  rebaptized. 

John  Elford  for  obstinacy,  after  diuers  syns  hee  stood 
guilty  of,  and  proued  by  witness,  William  James  for  pride 
and  diuers  other  evills,  in  which  he  remained  obstinate. 

John  Talby  for  much  pride,  and  unnaturalnes  to  his 
wife,  who  was  lately  executed  for  murdering  her  child. 

William  Walcot  for  refusing  to  bring  his  children  to  the 
ordinance,  neglecting  willingly  family  dutyes,  &c. 

Thus  wishing  the  Continued  enioyment  of  both  the 
Staues( Beauty  and  Bands)  and  that  y our  soules  may  flovrish 
as  watered  gardens,  rest  yw  in  the  lord  Jesus, 

Hu :  Peter. 


*  Records  of  Mass.  Bay  Colony. 

t  Tbe  original  letter  is  in  the  Mass.  Archives,  Vol. 


CCXL,  p.  33. 


16  HUGH  PETER: 

By  the  churches  order  and  in  her  name.  For  the  church 
in  Dorchester." 

June  6,  1639.  Mr  Endecott,  Mr  Downing  and  Mr 
Hauthorne  are  to  dispose  of  the  house  which  Mr  Peters 
bought,  as  they  can,  and  return  the  money  for  the  college* 
[Harvard] . 

June,  1639.  He  had  an  Indian  servant,  named  Hope, 
who  was  whipped  for  running  away  and  for  drunkenness. 

Sept.  4,  1639.  Writing  from  Salem  he  speaks  of  "  my 
wife,"  but  we  know  not  the  date  of  his  marriage.  "  My  wife 
desires  my  daughter  to  send  to  Hanna  that  was  her  mayd, 
now  at  Charltowne,  to  know  if  shee  would  dwell  with  vs 
for  truly  wee  are  so  destitute  (hauing  now  but  an  Indian) 
that  wee  know  not  what  to  doe."f  "  My  wife  is  very 
thankful  for  her  apples  and  desires  much  the  new  fashioned 
shoes,"  he  writes  to  Winthrop  in  1639. 

His  health  is  seldom  good.  In  1636,  he  writes  : —  "  but 
God's  hand  hath  bin  and  is  upon  mee,  more  and  more  in 
the  weakness  of  my  body,  which  declynes  dayly."  And 
again  in  1638  : — "  My  head  is  not  well,  nor  any  part  at 
present  for  I  cannot  get  sleepe." 

3  mo.  3  day,  1638.  Endecott  writes  from  Salem,  to 
Winthrop  : —  "  and  would  however  [have  seen  you]  had 
not  Mr.  Peters'  illness  onely  detayned  mee  for  he  hath 
bene  very  ill.  But  I  hope  the  worst  is  past  though  hee 
be  as  sick  in  his  thoughts  aa  ever." 

Hugh  Peter's  daughter  Elizabeth,  his  only  child,  to 
whom  he  dedicated  his  "  Last  Legacy,"  was  born  in  Salem, 
and  was  baptized  there  the  first  day  of  the  eighth  month, 
(Oct.)  1640.  It  must  have  been  about  the  time  of  his 
daughter's  birth  that  his  wife  first  showed  signs  of  mental 
disorder,  and  perhaps  he  refers  to  this  in  a  letter  dated 
1640,  when  he  says:  "Deepe  melancholy  is  getting  fast 
vpon  mee  agayne  and  tethers  mee  at  home."  And  again  in 
the  same  year :  "  Am  also  at  present  fallen  into  a  sore  fit  of 
my  old  hypochondriacal  melancholy  through  cold  and  care." 

He  often  refers  to  Ipswich  in  his  letters,  and  frequently 
goes  there,  several  of  his  step-children  being  settled  in 
that  town. 

*  Records  of  Mass.  Bay  Colony. 

t  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  4th  series,  Vol.  VI. 


PREACHER,  PATEIOT,  PHILANTHROPIST.  17 

The  first  discourse  ever  delivered  within  the  limits  of 
Wenham  (first  called  Enon),  was  preached  by  him  from 
a  small  hill  now  leveled,  but  long  known  as  Peter's  Pulpit, 
and  his  text  was  :  "  In  Enon,  near  to  Salem,  because  there 
was  much  water  there."  John,  in.  23.  In  1835,  the 
town  of  Wenham  voted  to  grant  Hugh  Peter's  hill  to  the 
first  church  in  Salem,  upon  condition  of  their  erecting 
there  a  monument  to  him.  The  offer  was  to  hold  good  for 
three  years :  it  was  not  accepted  and  the  land  passed  to 
an  ice  company. 

Peter  owned  a  farm  of  three  or  four  hundred  acres  in 
Marblehead,  near  what  is  now  Devereux. 

In  1640,  the  Court  requested  the  Churches  of  Salem, 
Roxbury  and  Boston  to  relinquish  their  pastors  for  the 
mission  to  England.  The  churches  strenuously  objected. 

Impetus  was  given  to  ship  building  in  1640-41,  by  Hugh 
Peter  and  Richard  Hollingsworth  causing  a  ship  to  be 
begun  in  the  February  of  that  year.  She  was  of  300  tons 
and  was  finished  and  launched  in  June.  She  was  perhaps 
the  Mary  Ann  of  Salem,  mentioned  in  1643.  The 
inhabitants  of  Boston  forthwith  built  a  ship  of  150  tons. 

"  These  are  the  ministers  of  the  Bay.  At  Salem,  Master 
Peter,  Pastor,  Master  Norris,  Teacher,  and  his  sonne  a 
School  Master.  Long  Island  is  begun  to  be  planted,  a 
Church  was  gathered  for  that  Island  atLynne,  in  the  Bay. 
Master  Peter  of  Salem  was  at  the  gathering.  At  Northern, 
alias  Piscattaqua,  is  master  Larkham  Pastor,  One  master 
H.  K.*  was  also  lately  Minister  there,  with  Master 
Larkham.  They  two  fell  out  about  baptizing  of  children, 
receiving  of  members,  buriall  of  the  dead,  and  the 
contention  was  so  sharp,  that  Master  K.  and  his  party 
rose  up,  and  excommunicated  Master  Larkham,  and  some 
that  held  with  him  :  And  further  Master  Larkham  flying 
to  the  Magistrates,  Master  K.  and  a  Captainf  raised 
Armes  and  expected  belpe  from  the  Bay :  Master  K. 
going  before  the  troop  with  a  Bible  upon  a  pole's  top,  and 
he,  or  some  of  his  party  giving  forth,  that  their  side  were 
Scots,  and  the  other  English  :  Whereupon  the  Gentlemen 
of  Sir  Ferdinaudo  Gorges  plantation  came  in,  and  kept 

*  Hansard  Knollys.  t  Underbill. 

HUT.  COLL.  VOL.  XXX  vm  2 


18  HUGH  PETER: 

Court  with  the  Magistrates  of  Piscattaqua  (who  have  also 
a  Patent)  being  weake  of  themselves.  And  they  fined  all 
them  that  were  in  armes,  for  a  Riot,  by  Indictment,  Jury 
and  Verdict,  formally  Nine  of  then  were  censured  to  be 
whipt,  but  that  was  spared.  Master  K.  and  the  Captain 
their  Leaders,  were  fined  100  1.  apiece,  which  they  were 
not  able  to  pay.  To  this  broyle  came  Master  Peter  of 
Salem  and  there  gave  his  opinion  at  Northam,  that  the 
said  excommunication  was  a  nnlity."* 

"  A  nd  particularly,  Master  Peter  went  from  Salem  on 
foot  to  New  Dover,  alias  Piscattnqua,  alias  Northam,  to 
appease  the  difference  betweene  Master  Larkham  and 
Master  K.  when  they  had  been  up  in  Armes  this  last 
Winter  time.  He  went  by  the  sending  of  the  Governour, 
Counsell  and  Assistants  of  the  Bay,  and  of  the  Church  of 
Salem,  and  was  in  much  danger  of  being  lost  returning, 
by  losing  his  way  in  the  woods,  and  some  with  him,  but 
God  be  blessed  they  returned.''! 

"Mr.  Peters  and  Mr.  Dalton  with  one  of  Acamenticus 
went  [1641]  from  Pascataquack  with  Mr.  John  Ward  [of 
Haverhill]  who  was  to  be  entertained  there  for  their 
minister ;  and  though  it  be  but  6  miles  yet  they  lost  their 
way  and  wandered  2  days  and  1  night  without  food  or  fire 
in  the  snow  and  wet."J 

June  2,  1641.  "The  Court  doth  entreat  leave  of  the 
church  of  Salem  for  Mr.  Peters,  of  the  church  of  Roxberry 
for  Mr.  Wells  and  of  the  church  of  Boston  for  Mr.  Hibbens 
to  go  to  England  upon  some  weighty  occations  for  the  good 
of  the  country,  aa  is  conceived  ;"§  and  this  time  the 
congregation  sacrificing  itself,  permitted  him  to  depart. 
He  left,  with  Weld  of  Roxbury  and  Hibbens  of  Boston,  as 
agents  for  the  Colony,  to  attend  to  its  interests  in  the 
mother  country,  and  principally  to  plead  for  a  decrease  of 
the  taxes. 

"There  being  no  ship  which  was  to  return  right  for 
England,"  they  went  to  Newfoundland  intending  to  take  a 
passage  from  thence  in  the  fishing  fleet.  They  left  Boston, 

*  Plain  Dealing  or  Newea  from  New  England,  by  Tboi.  Lechford.    Mane.  HUt. 
Coll.,  3rd  series,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  98. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  106. 

i  Winthrop's  Journal,  II,  p.  29. 
§  Records  of  Mass.  Bay  Colony. 


PREACHER,  PATRIOT,  PHILANTHROPIST.  19 

August  3rd,  accompanied  by  John  Winthrop  the  younsrer. 
They  were  14  days  to  Newfoundland.  Peter  and  Weld 
preached  to  the  people  there  "  who  were  much  nffected 
with  the  word  taught,  and  entreated  them  with  all 
courtesy." 

He  writes  on  July  27,  1641,  "  If  the  Lord  continue  my 
life,  then  I  do  hereby  authorize  them  [Gott  and  Horn]  to 
do  all  my  affairs  as  if  myself  was  present,  as  in  looking 
into  my  house,  to  dispose  of  my  ground,  mill,  and  other 
things  as  in  wisdom  they  shall  see  meet." 

While  on  his  way  to  England  a  commission  was  forwarded 
to  him  from  Connecticut,  signed  by  Hnynes  and  Winthrop. 
"Whereas  the  bearer,  Mr.  Hugh  Peters,  minister  of  Salem, 
ia  sent  at  the  public  request  to  England  to  negociate  with 
the  present  parliament  there  about  such  matters  as  concern 
us,  which  we  confide  to  his  care  and  fidelity,  this  is  to 
authorize  him,  if  occasion  permit  him  to  go  to  the 
Netherlands,  to  treat  with  the  West  Indian  Company  there 
concerning  a  peaceable  neighborhood  between  us  and  them 
of  New  Netherlands  and  whatever  he  shall  further  think 
proper  touching  the  West  Indies." 

"  1642,  Mo.  6.  Mr.  Welde,  Mr.  Peter,  and  Mr.  HSbbens 
who  were  sent  hst  year  into  England,  had  procured  500£ 
which  they  sent  over  in  linen,  woollen,  and  other  useful 
commodities  for  this  country,  which,  because  the  stock 
might  be  preserved  and  returned  this  year  for  a  further 
supply,  were  put  off  together  for  about  eighty  pounds 
profit,  and  the  principal  returned  by  Mr.  Stoughton  in  the 
next  ship."*  "  My  first  work  was  with  the  first,  to  go  for 
Ireland,  which  I  did  with  many  hazards ;  then  I  was  at 
sea,  with  my  old  patron,  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  to  whom 
I  owed  my  life,"  he  writes. 

From  June  to  Sept.,  1642,  he  was  chaplain  to  the  forces 
for  the  reduction  of  Ireland,  in  the  expedition  commanded 
by  Alexander,  Lord  Forbes,  and  the  same  year  he  wrote 
an  account  of  this  expedition. 

March  10,  1643.  One  of  the  ends  of  his  mission  was 
attained  in  the  relief  of  New  England  from  all  duties 
on  exports  and  imports  to  and  from  the  mother  country, 
which  were  for  the  home  consumption  of  the  colonists. 

July  5,  1643.     He  attended  Mr  Chaloner  (who  was  in 

*  Wlnthrop'8  Journal,  n,  p.  78. 


20  HUGH   PETEB: 

Waller's  Plot)  in  prison  and  at  his  execution.  Chnloner, 
advised  by  Peter,  on  the  scaffold,  explained  the  p:irt  he 
had  taken  in  the  plot,  and  then  desired  Mr  Peter  to  pray 
with  him.  The  same  year  he  was  sent  by  Parliament 
to  Holland,  to  borrow  money  for  the  Protestant  sufferers 
in  Ireland  and  raised  £30,000. 

Jan.  4,  1644.  He  attends  Sir  John  Hotham  at  his 
execution  ;  and  on  the  scaffold  received  public  thanks 
from  Sir  John  for  his  excellent  instruction  and  nssi-stance. 

Mar.  12,  1644.  In  a  speech  of  Archbishop  Laud's,  at 
the  beginning  of  his  trial,  after  speaking  of  the  persons 
whom  he  had  been  the  means  of  converting  from 
Romanism,  the  Archbishop  said:  "Let  any  clergyman 
of  England  come  forth  and  give  a  better  account  of  his 
Zeal  to  the  Church."  Peter,  who  stood  near  him  replied 
that  however  he  was  only  an  humble  individual  among 
many  hundreds  of  ministers  in  the  kingdom,  he  had  been 
instrumental  thro'  divine  aid,  in  bringing  not  only  twenty- 
two  from  Papistry  but  one  hundred  and  twenty,  who 
witnessed  a  good  profession,  as  true  Protestants  and 
sincere  Christians.  He  added  that  others  as  well  as 
himself,  were  able  to  produce  hundreds  of  real  converts 
to  the  Church,  for  each  whom  the  Prelate  could.*  He 
accompanied  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  upon  his  expedition 
for  the  relief  of  Lyme,  during  May  and  June  of  1644, 
and  subsequently  gave  "a  large  Relation  to  the  Commons 
of  all  the  Business  of  Lyme  where  he  was  with  the  Earl 
of  Warwick." 

June  6,  1645.  He  is  chaplain  to  the  train, — "the 
regiments  in  charge  of  the  baggage  wagons  and  artillery ",f 

While  Laud  was  in  prison  he  charged  Peter  with 
conspiring  to  banish  him  to  New  England  and  begged 
that  he  might  not  be  sent  over-seas,  pleading  his  age  and 
infirmities.  This  had  indeed  been  thought  of,  but  as  a 
means  of  saving  him  from  death,  and  Peter's  request 
therefore  had  been  a  motion  made  in  Commons. 

July  20,  1645.  "On  the  Lord's  day  [at  the  siege  of 
Bridgewater,]  Mr.  Peters  in  the  forenoon  preached  a 
preparation  sermon,  to  encourage  the  soldiers  to  go  on  ; 
Mr  Bowles  likewise  did  in  part  in  the  afternoon.  After 

t  Felt's  Memoir  of  Hugh  Peters. 
i  Gardener's  Great  Civil  War,  II,  297. 


PREACHER,  PATRIOT,  PHILANTHROPIST.  21 

both  sermons  the  drums  beat,  the  army  was  drawn  out 
into  the  field  :  the  commanders  of  the  forlorne  hope,  who 
were  to  begin  the  storm,  and  the  soldiers,  being  drawn 
together  in  the  field,  were  there  also  afresh  exhorted  to  do 
their  duties  (with  undaunted  courage  and  resolution)  by 
Mr.  Peters,  who  did  it  (as  one  says  of  him)  tarn  Marte 
Quam  Mercurio."* 

In  1645,  at  the  storming  of  Bridgewater,  "  Mr.  Peters 
and  Mr.  Boles,  in  their  sermons,  incouraged  the  Soldiers 
to  the  work.  About  7  at  night  the  fort  being  drawn  out, 
and  these  that  Commanded  the  storm  and  forlorn,  Mr. 
Peters,  in  the  Field,  gave  them  an  Exhortation  to  do  their 
duties/'-f  "Mr.  Peters  who  brought  up  the  Letter  from 
Sir  Thomas  Fairfax  was  called  into  the  House,  and  made 
a  large  Relation  of  the  particular  passages  in  the  taking 
of  Bridgewater ;  he  also  produced  several  Commissions 
in  Characters,  which  the  House  referred  to  a  Committee, 
to  be  decyphered,  and  gave  £100  to  Mr.  Peters  for  his 
unwearied  services,  and  sent  a  letter  of  thanks  to  Sir 
Thomas  Fairfax  for  all  his  great  services  and  particularly 
for  this  of  Bridgewater."t 

Aug.  29,  1645.  Friday.  A  fast  was  kept  through  the 
army  to  seek  God  for  a  blessing  upon  the  designs  against 
Bristol :  Mr  Del  and  Mr  Peters  kept  the  day  at  the  head 
quarters.* 

Aug.,  1645.  At  this  time,  in  compliance  with  Peter's 
former  application  to  Parliament,  he  obtained  the  passage 
of  an  ordinance,  enlarging  that  of  1643,  which  allowed 
all  exports  to  New  England  to  be  free  from  duties  without 
the  previous  restriction. 

Sept.  9,  1645.  "Mr.  Peter  was  called  into  the  House  and 
gave  them  a  particular  Account  of  the  Siege  of  Bristol, 
and  the  cause  of  sitting  down  before  it  to  prevent  the 
plunder  and  cruelties  of  Prince  Rupert  in  that  Country, 
and  he  pressed  the  desire  of  Sir.  Thomas  Fairfax  to  have 
Recruits  sent  to  him."§ 

Sept.,  1645.  "  Mr.  Peters  Preached  in  the  Market  Place 
at  Torrington,  and  convinced  many  of  their  Errors  in 

*  Anglia  Rediviva;  England's  Recovery.  The  History  of  the  Motions,  Actions 
and  Successes  of  the  Army  under  tlr  Thomas  Fairfax,  by  Joshua  Sprigg,  M.  A. 
London,  1H47. 

t  Whitelocke's  Memorials,  ed.  1732,  p.  6r-. 

i  Whitelocke's  Memorials,  ed.  1732,  p.  157. 

§  Whitelocke's  Memorials,  ed.  1782,  p.  171. 


22  HUGH  PETEB: 

adhering  to  the  King's  Party,  and  that  he,  with  Lieut. 
Col.  Berry*  were  sent  to  Plymouth  to  treat  with  the 
Governor,  "f 

Oct.  1, 1645.  "The  Cort  thinketh  it  meete  y*  Mr  Peet" 
and  Mr  Weld,  being  sent  ovr  as  prsons  fit  to  negociate 
for  ye  country,  haveing  been  long  absent,  desire  they  may 
undrstand  the  Corts  mind  y*  they  desire  their  qpsence 
here,  and  speedy  returne."J 

It  is  probably  about  this  time  that  he  wrote  the 
following  letter : 

"  To  my  truly  honourable  and  faithful  General  Sir  Thomas 
Fairfax  : 

"  Sir,  one  of  the  greatest  comforts  I  have  had  in  this 
world,  next  to  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ  to  my  poor 
Soul,  hath  been  to  be  a  member  of  your  Army,  and  a 
spectator  of  his  presence  with  you  and  it,  what  others  do, 
I  know  not ;  but  it  is  my  duty  to  return  to  my  work,  and 
to  meet  you  again  ;  which  I  am  bold  to  do  with  this  simple 
present.  I  know  your  mind,  that  must  not,  will  not,  be 
flattered ;  nor  am  I  skillful  in  that  mystery  :  I  have  seen 
you  upon  earth,  and  doubt  not  to  meet  you  triumphing  in 
heaven.  I  only  must  crave  leave  to  speak  your  own 
words,  that  your  great  experience  of  God's  Power  and 
mercy,  have  made  strong  obligation  upon  you  to  love 
Him  and  the  saints,  which  I  have  seen  you  do  impartially ; 
you  have  made  it  your  interest,  and  now,  you  find  you  are 
not  deceived,  the  God  of  all  your  unparalled  mercy  dwell 
in  that  thriving  soul  of  yours,  strengthen  you  throughout 
to  the  completing  of  this  great  work,  yea,  Sereus  in 
Coelum  redeas,  diuque  Laetus  intersis  populo  Britanno. 

"For  myself  (if  it  be  worth  your  acceptance)  I  am 
resolved  to  live  and  die  in  your  and  the  kingdom's  Service, 
and  as  you  have  obliged  three  kingdoms  to  you  and  many 
thousands  of  saints,  so  none  of  them  more  to  honour  you 
than,  Sir 

Your  ever  faithful   servant  in   Christ 

Hugh  Peters."$ 

*  Perhaps  this  Is  "  Capt.  Lteut."  Berry  who  killed  Gen.  Cavendish. 

1  Whltelocke,  ed.  1732,  p.  194.  Wbitelocke  gives  this  Information  Feb.  28,  1045 
(0. 8.),  Baying:  "  Letters  from  the  Army  certified  that"  .  .  .  but  it  appears  to 
me  that  this  event  took  place  in  the  previous  September. 

t  Records  of  Mass.  Bay  Colony,  Vol.  II,  p  137. 

§  Memorials  of  the  Civil  War,  ed.  by  Bob.  Bell  (Fairfax  Correspondence) 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  23 

Oct.  7,  1645.  "  Letters  brought  by  Mr.  Peters  from 
Lieutenant  General  Cromwell  certified  that,  after  he  hud 
entered  Winchester  Town,  he  summoned  the  Castle  who 
denied,  then  he  planted  six  Guns,  and  after  firing  them 
round  sent  a  second  Summons  for  a  Treaty,  which  he 
refused  :  That  he  made  a  Breach  with  two  hundred  Shot, 
and  then  the  Governor  beat  a  Parley,  which  was  agreed 
to,  and  Colonel  Hammond  and  Major  Harrison,  for 
Cromwell,  agreed  upon  Articles  for  Surrender  of  the 
Castle,  which  was  well  manned  with  six  hundred  eighty 
Horse  and  Foot,  near  two  hundred  Gentlemen  Officers, 
and  their  Servants,  victualled  with  fifteen  thousand  Weight 
of  Cheese,  store  of  Wheat  and  Beer,  twenty  Barrels  of 
Powder,  seven  Pieces  of  Cannon.  The  Works  exceeding 
strong,  eight  hundred  Pounds  of  Butter,  one  hundred 
forty  Quarters  of  Wheat  and  Meal,  seven  thousand  Weight 
of  Bisket,  great  store  of  other  Provisions,  Arms  and 
Ammunition. 

"The  Messenger  of  the  good  news  had  fifty  Pound  given 

him Mr.  Peters  was  called  in,  and  made  a 

particular  Relation  of  the  taking  of  Winchester  Castle. 
Oct  7,  1645."* 

"Mr.  Peters,  also  being  requested  to  make  a  relation  to 
the  House  of  Commons,  spake  as  follows :  The  reader 
will  like  to  hear  Mr.  Peters  for  once,  a  man  concerning 
whom  he  has  heard  so  many  falsehoods,  and  to  see  an  old 
grim  scene  through  his  eyes.  Mr.  Peters  related  That 
he  came  into  Basing  House  some  time  after  the  storm,  on 
Tuesday,  14th  of  October  1645  ;  *  and  took  a  view  first  of 
the  works  which  were  many,  the  circumvallion  being  above 
a  mile  in  compass.  The  Old  House  had  stood  (as  it  is 
reported)  two  or  three  hundred  years,  a  nest  of  Idolatry ; 
the  New  House  surpassing  that  in  beauty  and  stateliness  ; 
and  either  of  them  fit  to  make  an  emperor's  court.  The 
rooms  before  the  storm  (it  seems),  in  both  Houses,  were 
all  completely  furnished  ;  provisions  for  some  years  rather 
than  months  ;  400  quarters  of  wheat ;  bacon  divers  rooms 
full,  containing  hundreds  of  flitches  ;  cheese  proportionable  ; 
with  oatmeal,  beef,  pork  ;  beer  divers  cellars-full  and  that 
very  good.'  Mr.  Peters  having  taken  a  draught  of  the 

*  Whitelocke,  ed.  1732,  p.  175. 


24  HUGH  PETER: 

same.  f  A  bed  in  one  room,  furnished,  which  cost  £1,300 
Popish  books,  many  with  copes,  and  such  utensils.  In 
truth,  the  House  stood  in  its  full  pride;  and  the  Enemy 
was  pursuaded  that  it  would  be  the  last  piece  of  ground 
taken  by  the  Parliament,  because  they  had  so  often  foiled 
our  forces  which  had  formerly  appeared  before  it.  In  the 
several  rooms  and  about  the  House,  there  were  slain 
seventy-four,  and  only  one  woman,  the  daughter  of  Dr. 
Griffith,  who  by  her  railing,' poor  lady,  '  provoked  our 
soldiers  (then  in  heat)  into  a  farther  passion.  There  lay 
dead  upon  the  ground  Major  Cuffle ;  a  man  of  great 
account  amongst  them,  and  a  notorious  Papist;  slain  by 
the  hands  of  Major  Harrison,  that  godly  and  gallant 
gentleman' — all  men  know  him — 'and  Robinson  the  Player, 
who  a  little  before  the  storm  was  known  to  be  mocking 
and  scorning  the  Parliament  and  our  Army :  eight  or 
nine  gentlewomen  of  rank,  running  forth  together,  were 
entertained  by  the  common  soldiers  somewhat  coarsely ; 
yet  not  uncivilly,  considering  the  action  in  hand. 

"'The  plunder  of  the  soldiers  continued  till  Tuesday 
night,  one  soldier  had  a  hundred-and-twenty  pieces  of 
gold  for  his  share ;  others  plate,  and  others  jewels ; 
among  the  rest  one  got  three  bags  of  silver  which  (he 
being  not  able  to  keep  his  own  counsel)  grew  to  be 
common  pillage  amongst  the  rest,  and  the  fellow  had  but 
one  half-crown  left  for  himself  at  last.  The  soldiers  sold 
the  wheat  to  country-people  ;  which  they  held  up  at  good 
rates  a  while ;  but  afterwards  the  market  fell,  and  there 
were  some  abatements  for  haste.  After  that,  they  sold 
the  household  stuff,  whereof  there  was  good  store,  and 
the  country  loaded  away  many  carts  ;  and  they  continued 
a  great  while,  fetching  out  all  manner  of  household  stuff, 
till  they  had  fetched  out  all  the  stools,  chairs  and  other 
lumber,  all  of  which  they  sold  to  the  country-people  by 
piecemeal. 

"'In  all  these  great  buildings,  there  was  not  one  bar  left 
in  all  the  windows  (save  only  what  were  on  fire),  before 
night.  And  the  last  work  of  all  was  the  lead ;  and  by 
Wednesday  morning  they  had  hardly  left  one  gutter  about 
the  House.  And  what  the  soldiers  left  the  fire  took  hold 
on ;  which  made  more  than  ordinary  haste ;  leaving 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  25 

nothing  but  bare  walls  and  chimneys  in  less  than  twenty 
hours ;  being  occasioned  by  the  neglect  of  the  Enemy  in 
quenching  a  fire  ball  of  ours  at  first.'  What  a  scene  !  'We 
know  not  how  to  give  a  just  account  of  the  number  of 
persons  that  were  within.  For  we  have  not  quite  three 
hundred  prisoners,  and  it  may  be  have  found  a  hundred 
slain,  —  whose  bodies,  some  being  covered  with  rubbish, 
came  not  at  once  to  view.  Only  riding  to  the  House  on 
Tuesday  night  we  heard  divers  crying  in  vaults  for 
quarters,  but  our  men  could  neither  come  to  them,  nor 
they  to  us.  Amongst  those  that  we  saw  slain,  one  of 
their  officers  lying  on  the  ground,  seeming  so  exceedingly 
tall,  was  measured  ;  and  from  his  great  toe  to  his  crown 
was  9  feet  in  length'  [sic]. 

"The  Marquis*  being  pressed  by  Mr.  Peters  arguing 
with  him,  urging  him  to  yield  before  it  came  to  storm, 
broke  out  and  said  :  f  That  if  the  King  had  no  more 
ground  in  England  but  Basing  House,  he  would  adventure 
as  he  did,  and  so  maintain  it  to  the  uttermost ;'  meaning 
with  these  Papists ;  comforting  himself  in  his  disaster, 
'that  Basing  House  was  called  Loyalty.'  But  he  was 
soon  silenced  in  the  question  concerning  the  King  and 
Parliament;  and  could  only  hope 'That  the  King  might 
have  a  day  again.'  And  thus  the  Lord  was  pleased  in  a 
few  hours  to  show  us  what  mortal  seed  all  earthly  glory 
grows  upon,  and  how  just  and  righteous  the  ways  of  God 
are,  who  taketh  sinners  in  their  own  snares,  and  lifteth  up 
the  hands  of  His  despised  people. 

"This  is  now  the  twentieth  garrison  that  hath  been  taken 
in  this  Summer,  by  this  Army  ;  and  I  believe  most  of  them 
the  answers  of  the  prayers  and  trophies  of  the  faith,  of 
some  of  God's  servants. 

"The  Commander  of  this  Brigade,  Lieutenant-General 
Cromwell,  'had  spent  much  time  with  God  in  prayer  the 
night  before  the  storm,  and  seldom  fijrhts  without  some 
Text  of  Scripture  to  support  him.  This  time  he  rested 
upon  that  blessed  word  of  God,  written  in  the  Hundred 
and  fifteenth  Psalm,  eighth  verse.  'They  that  make  them 
are  like  unto  them ;  so  is  every  one  that  trusteth  in 

*  The  Marquis  of  Winchester. 


26  HUGH    PETER: 

them.  Which,  with  some  verses  going  before  was  now 
accomplished.' 

"Mr.  Peters  presented  the  Marquis's  own  Colours,  which 
he  brought  from  Basing;  the  Motto  of  which  was,  Donee 
Pax  redeal  terris;  the  very  same  as  King  Charles  gaee 
upon  his  Coronation-money,  when  he  came  to  the  Crown. 
So  Mr.  Peters;  and  then  withdrew,  —  getting  by  and  by 
200 1.  a  year  settled  on  him."* 

Jan.  18,  1646.  Sunday.  At  Dartmouth,  Mr  Del  in 
the  morning  and  Mr  Peters  in  the  evening,  exhorted  the 
soldiers  to  do  their  duty.f 

"For  the  right  honourable  the  Lord  Fairfax,  these  : 
May  it  please  your  Lordship,  as  soon  as  we  were 
masters  of  the  town,  I  sent  a  letter  to  your  Lordship  in 
the  express  to  your  house.  The  two  forts  are  since 
surrendered,  aud  Mr  Peters  this  bearer,  can  relate  all  the 
particulars,  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  businesses  the  General 
hath  yet  done,  to  God  be  the  Glory,  I  take  my  leave,  aud 
remain 

Your  Lordship's  most  humble  servant, 

I.  RUSHWOBTH. 
Dartmouth,  January  20,  1645."     (1646.  N.  S.) 

Jan.  23,  1646.  "  Mr  Peters  came  from  the  Army  to  the 
House,  and  made  them  a  Narration  of  the  storming  and 
taking  of  Dartmouth,  and  of  the  valour,  unity  and  affection 
of  the  Army,  and  presented  several  Letters,  Papers  and 
Crucifixes  and  other  Popish  things  taken  in  the  Town.  "J 

"Peter  was  chaplain  in  the  campaign  of  1645-46; 
Whenever  a  town  was  to  be  assaulted,  it  was  his  business 
to  preach  a  preparatory  sermon  to  the  storming  parties  ; 
at  Bridgewater,  Bristol  and  Dartmouth  his  eloquence  was 
credited  with  a  share  in  inspiring  the  soldiers.  During 
the  siege  of  Bristol  he  made  converts  of  five  thousand 
clubmen ;  when  Fairfax's  army  entered  Cornwall  his 
dispatches  specially  mentioned  the  usefulness  of  Peter  in 
persuading  his  countrymen  to  submission.  ...  In 
addition  to  his  duties  as  chaplain  Peter  exercised  the 

*  Whltelocke ;  ed.  1732,  p.  218.    Carlyle's  Oliver  Cromwell. 

f  AngliaRedivlva. 

i  Whltelocke,  ed.  1732,  p.  189. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  27 

functions  of  a  confidential  agent  of  the  general  and  of  a 
war  correspondent.  Fairfax  habitually  employed  him  to 
represent  to  the  parliament  the  condition  of  the  army,  the 
motives  which  determined  his  movements  and  the  detail 
of  his  successes."* 

Feb.  28,  1646.  Saturday.  "His  excellency  had 
intelligence  that  salt  ash  was  quitted  by  the  enemy,  and 
their  works  left  undemolished ;  that  the  Governour  of 
Mount  Edgecombe  was  resolved  to  conclude  upon  a  treaty 
negociated  by  Master  Peters  : 

"  The  conditions  for  the  surrender  of  mount  Edgecomb, 
a  place  of  great  strength  and  consideration,  were  this  day 
presented  to  the  General  by  Master  Coriton,  Master 
Tower,  Master  Glanville,  and  Master  Trevisa,  gentlemen 
of  the  country,  who  were  glad  of  the  opportunity  to 
present  themselves  to  the  General  for  his  favour;  the 
propositions  were  ratified  by  his  excellency  and  letters  of 
recommendation  were  agreed  unto,  to  be  drawn  and  sent 
on  their  behalf  to  the  parliament,  their  reasonable  coming 
in  was  a  good  service  and  master  Peters'  industry ;  this 
negociation  was  great,  and  worthy  all  acceptation  and 
acknowledgement.''! 

March  21, 1645  (1646,  N.  S.).  "Mr  Peters  newly  come 
from  the  Army,  was  called  into  the  House  and  made  them 
a  particular  relation  of  the  proceedings  of  Sir  Thomas 
Fairfax  there,  as  is  before  mentioned,  and  that  Hoptou's 
Horse  that  were  disbanded  were  near  five  thousand. 

"That  the  Lord  Hopton  was  not  gone  for  Oxford,  but 
took  shipping  for  France,  and  many  of  the  Commanders 
with  him,  and  some  before,  and  others  went  to  their  own 
houses,  that  Pendennis  Castle  was  closely  besieged  and 
that  the  General  intended  to  return  towards  Exeter. 

"Order  for  an  hundred  pounds  per  annum  to  be  settled 
on  Mr.  Peters,  and  his  Heirs,  out  of  the  Earl  of 
Worcesters  Estate  and  fifty  pounds  to  the  Gentleman  that 
brought  the  Letters  from  Sir.  Thomas  Fairfax. "J 

April  3,  1646.  Peter  preached  a  sermon,  "God's 
Doings  and  Man's  Duty,"  before  the  Lord  Mayor  and 

*  Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 

t  Anglla  Kcdiviva. 

i  Whltelocke,  ed.  1732,  p.  198. 


28  HUGH   PETER: 

Aldermen  of  the  City  of  London  and  the  Assembly  of 
Divines ;  this  sermon  was  one  of  Thanksgiving  "  for  the 
recovery  of  the  West  and  disbanding  of  five  thousand  of 
the  King's  Horse !"  and  was  printed  by  R.  Ra worth  for 
G.  Culvert  at  the  sign  of  the  Black  and  Spread  Eagle  at 
the  west  end  of  Pauls.  1646. 

The  following  extracts  are  made  from  this  sermon  : — 

"Since  you  are  still  buzzed  in  the  ear  with  a  desperate 
increase  ot  error,  give  me  to  leave  this  expedient  by  way 
of  a  query.  The  wound  seems  to  be  in  the  understanding, 
and  the  cure  must  be  there  (under  favour)  What  if  some 
convenient  places  in  the  city  were  set  apart  two  or  three 
times  weekly,  where  Godly  learned  men,  appointed  by 
yourselves,  and  the  leaders  or  heads  of  these  errors,  aa 
they  are  termed,  might  have  leave  to  come,  and  there  in 
a  brotherly  way  take  and  give  satisfaction?  For  as 
conclaves  have  always  been  dangerous,  so  these  poor 
erring  men  can  not  have  the  benefit  to  appear  with 
boldness,  and  reasonable  souls  may  sooner  certainly  be 
taught  with  reason  and  scripture  than  with  cudgels  and 
blows." 

"I  could  wish  some  of  my  learned  brethren's  quarrelling 
hours  were  rather  spent  upon  clearing  the  originals, 
and  so  conveying  pure  scripture  to  posterity,  than  in 
scratching  others  with  their  sharpened  pens,  and  making 
cockpits  of  pulpits." 

"Men  and  Brethren,  whilst  we  are  disputing  here,  they 
are  perishing  there  and  going  to  hell  by  droves.  If  I 
know  anything,  what  you  have  gotten  by  the  sword  must 
be  maintained  by  the  word — I  say  the  word,  by  which 
English  Christians  are  made  :  in  other  countries  disci- 
pline makes  them  so.  Drive  them  into  a  church  together 
and  then  dub  them  Christians ;  you  will  find  too  much 
of  this  abroad  and  hence  it  comes  to  pass  that  most  of 
their  religion  lies  in  polemics,  which  is  the  trade  we  are 
likely  to  drive  if  God  prevent  not." 

"What  Mr.  Peters  further  asked  for  was  not  stricter 
discipline,  but  more  attractive  preaching.  Nor  were 
men's  bodies  to  be  neglected.  Why  was  not  the 
Charterhouse  employed  in  helping  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  those  who  had  been  slain  in  the  war  ?  Why  were  there 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  29 

so  many  beggars  in  the  city?  Why  could  not  the  Courts 
do  justice  more  quickly?  And  as  a  means  thereto,  why 
could  not  the  language  of  the  law  be  English  instead  of 
French — that  badge  of  conquest?  There  might  even  be 
two  or  three  friend-makers  set  up  in  every  parish  without 
whose  labour  and  leave  none  should  implend  another. 
Why  were  poor  debtors  to  be  kept  in  prison?  Why 
should  men's  names  be  exposed  to  detraction  ? 

"I  know  no  publiek  person,  but  ought  to  carry  a  spare 
handkerchief  to  wipe  off  dirt ;  yet  certainly  blasting  men's 
names  in  print,  is  not  the  way  to  clear  a  cause  in  dispute. 
Let  us  look  to  our  duty  and  the  Lord  will  care  for  our 
reproaches." 

In  a  letter  from  Giles  Firmin*  to  John  Winthrop, 
written  from  England  in  1646,  appears  the  following: 
"Mr.  Peter  hath  done  very  much  service  since  hjther  hee 
came.  I  could  wish  hee  did  not  too  much  countenance  the 
Opinjanists,  which  Avee  did  so  cast  out  in  New  England. 
I  know  he  abhores  them  in  hjs  heart,  but  hee  hath  many 
hang  vpon  him,  being  a  man  of  such  vse.  I  hope  God 
will  preserve  him  spottlesse,  notwithstanding  vjle 
aspersions  cast  vpon  hjm,  but  I  percejue  jt  is  by  the 
Presbylerjans,  agaynst  whom  some  tjme  hee  lets  dropp  a 
sharp  word."  "Colchester,  1st  July."f 

1646.  "A  plantation  was  this  year  begun  at  Pequod 
River  by  Mr.  John  Winthrop  Junr.,  Mr.  Thomas  Peter, 
a  minister,  (brother  to  Mr.  Peter  of  Salem)  and  this 
Court  power  was  given  to  them  two  for  ordering  and 
governing  the  plantation  till  further  order,  &c."J 

In  1646,  Cromwell  commanded  Peter  to  raise  a  regi- 
ment of  foot  for  service  in  Ireland.  This  attempt  was 
unsuccessful,  but  undoubtedly  gave  rise  to  the  report  that 
Peter  was  a  colonel. 

August,  1646.  An  ordinance  sent  up  to  the  Lords  for 
settling  200  pounds  per  annum  upon  Mr.  HughPeter.§ 

October,  1646.  Ordinance  for  settling  200  pounds  per 
annum  on  Mr.  Hugh  Peters. || 

*  A  physician  of  Ipswich,  Mass.,  and  a  man  of  repute  and  standing. 

t  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  4th  series,  vol.  VII,  p.  277. 

i  Winthrop's  Journal,  II,  2«5. 

«  Whitelocke,  ed.  1732,  p.  218. 

0  Whltelocke,  ed.  1732,  p.  223.    Evidently  tht  same  as  the  preceding. 


80  HUGH   PETER: 

In  this  year  he  published  his  "Last  Report  of  the  English 
Wars,"  in  which  he  answered  seven  questions. 

1.  "  Why  he  was  silent  at  the  surrender  of  Oxford." 
He  replied  that  the  place  was  so  near  London  and  the 

occurrence  so  generally  known  there  was  no  need  of  his 
giving  it  greater  publicity.  He  also  adds  "You  had  nothing 
committed  there  by  ours  that  had  not  its  rise  from  integrity 
and  faithfulness  to  the  State." 

2.  "  What  he  observed  at  Worcester,  it  being  the  last 
town  in  the  Kings  hands?"     He  speaks  in  hi<rh  terms  of 
the  skill  and  bravery,  exhibited  there  by  Col.  Whalley  and 
other  officers.     He  observes  "  I  preached  at  Worcester  at 
our  coming  in,  and  afterwards,  did  observe  a  door  open 
to  the  Gospel.     I  am  now  satisfied  with  my  many,  many 
petitions,  that  I  might  live  to  see  this  day,  this  blessed 
day,  and  the   last  town  of  the  enemies  taken.       I   am 
thinking  whether  to  go  a  few  days  more  in  this  vale  to 
admire  what  I  have  seen  upon  earth,  and  then  die,  that  I 
may  praise  him,  as  he  would  be  praised,  who  hath  founded 
mercies   for  his  servants,  and  brought  forth  deliverance  to 
miracle,  through  Jesus  Christ." 

3.  "  What  were  best  to  do  with  the  army?" 

"  The  disbanding  of  an  army  if  trusty  ought  not  to  be  a 
work  of  haste.  Never  fewer  complaints,  nor  many  men  of 
such  quality,  whose  design  is  only  to  obey  their  masters, 
viz.  the  Parliament." 

4.  "  If  he  had  any  expedient  for  the  present  difference  ?" 
To  nullify  such  want  of  harmony,  the  clergy  should 

become  reconciled,  and  general  charity  exercised : 
Presbyterians  and  Independents  should  be  friendly  and 
seek  for  the  greatest  public  benefit.  "  Coals  blown  get 
heat  and  strength  ;  neglected  grow  cold.  I  think  we  might 
do  God  more  service  in  study  and  pulpits,  than  in  waiting 
at  great  mens  doors  and  working  them  up  to  their  selfish 
interests." 

5.  "What  his  thoughts  were  in  relation  to  foreign 
States?" 

"  That  forthwith  one  might  have  some  choice  agents 
sent,  as  two  to  Sweden,  two  to  the  Cantons,  our  good 
friend,  two  to  the  Netherlands,  and  so  to  other  parts,  as 
we  see  cause,  and  these  accompanied  with  a  manifest  of 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  31 

God's  gracious  dealings  with  the  State,  letting  them  know 
we  omitted  this  work  in  our  misery,  lest  our  friends  might 
fear  us  for  beggars,  but  now  being  upon  an  even  foot  with 
them,  we  let  them  know  our  condition,  and  how  we  are 
ready  to  own  them  against  a  common  enemy." 

6.  "  How  these  lute  mercies  and  conquests  might  be 
preserved  and  improved?" 

By  the  same  means  the  mercy  is  gained,  it  may  be 
preserved  even  the  encouragement  of  good  men  "Walk 
plainly  in  your  counsels,  God  needs  no  man's  lies  to  carry 
on  his  work.  Let  it  be  our  care  that  after  ages  may  not 
say  we  conquered  ourselves  into  a  new  slavery.  Justice 
will  exalt  and  maintain  a  nation.  I  wish  they  might  be 
first  sharers  in  it,  that  first  adventure  their  estates  and 
lives.  A  State  may  stand  upon  any  frame  of  government, 
if  fastened  together  with  Justice,  charity  and  industry,  the 
only  upholders  of  the  flourishing  neighbor  state  the 
Netherlands."  He  proposed,  that,  for  the  promotion  of 
morals  and  religion,  as  the  chief  source  of  a  nation's 
prosperity,  three  or  four  missionaries  might  be  employed 
in  each  County.  He  added  "how  ripe  I  have  found 
Herefordshire  and  Worcestershire,  for  the  Gospel  and 
many  other  counties." 

7.  "  Why  his  name   appears  in  so  many  books  not 
without  blots  and  he  never  wipes  them  off?" 

"  1  have  been  thinking  to  answer  six  or  seven  pamphlets, 
that  name  either  enviously,  or  disgracefully,  but  yet 
remain  doubting.  The  Lord  rebuke  Satan,  This  I  must 
say,  if  either  in  Doctrine  or  practice  I  have  failed,  the  time 
is  not  yet  wherein  any  brother  in  any  way  of  God  hath 
dealt  with  me."* 

"I  lived  about  six  years  near  that  famous  Scotchman 
Mr.  John  Forbes  with  whom  I  travelled  into  Germany 
and  enjoyed  him  in  much  love  and  sweetness  constantly, 
from  whom  I  never  had  but  encouragement  though  we 
differed  in  the  way  of  our  churches.  Learned  Amesius 
breathed  his  last  breath  in  my  bosom. "f 

*Thls  report  was  called  In  derision  "Mr.  Peter's  politics." 

t  Forbes  was  a  Presbyterian,  Ames  a  Separatist.  Extraordinary  toleration 
for  those  days!  He  evidently  refers  to  Ames,  and  uses  the  Latin  termination 
the  more  to  emphasize  "learned  Amesius  breathed  bis  last,"  etc.  Learned  Ames 
would  not  be  impressive.  See  list  of  Hugh  Peter's  works,  No.  16.  He  and  Ames 
were  warm  friends;  he  wag  very  kind  to  Ames*  widow. 


33  HUGH  FETEB: 

"Truly  it  wounds  my  soul,  when  I  think  Ireland  would 
perish  and  England  continue  her  misery  through  the 
disagreement  of  ten  or  twelve  learned  men.  Could  we 
but  conquer  each  other's  spirit,  we  should  soon  befool  the 
Devil  und  his  instruments ;  to  which  end  I  could  wish  we 
that  are  ministers  might  pray  together,  eat  and  drink 
together,  because,  if  I  mistake  not,  estrangement  hath 
boiled  us  up  to  jealousy  and  hatred." 

Speaking  of  his  former  church  in  Rotterdam  he  remarked 
"  I  thank  the  Lord  it  continues  to  this  day."  Alluding  to 
his  residence  in  Salem  he  said — "nor  did  I  loose  all  my 
seven  years  being  in  New  England,  amongst  these  faithful 
learned,  godly  brethren  whose  way  of  worship,  if  we 
profess,  it  will  not  be  groundless  when  their  writings  are 
examined.  But  to  those  printed  scribblers  against  me,  I 
may  provide  shortly  a  more  satisfactory  answer,  where  J 
may  plainly  charge  untrue  and  unworthy  passages  upon 
the  authors.  Now  the  good  Lord,  who  hath  led  captivity 
Captive  for  us,  subbue  us  to  himself,  and  grant  that,  in 
these  tossing,  troubling,  foaming  seas,  we  depart  not  from 
our  principles  of  reason,  honor,  liberty,  much  less  religion, 
which  is  the  prayer  of  Hugh  Peter." 

How  near  Peter  came  to  returning  to  the  land  he  loved 
is  shown  by  the  following  letters  to  the  Winthrops: 

Deale,  23  of  June,  1645, — "  desiring  you  to  assure  all 
the  world  that  i  am  coming  to  you  aud  haue  sent  my  wife 
before  for  diverse  reasons," 

1646.  "I  am  coming  over  if  I  must,  my  wife  comes  of 
necessity  to  New  England  hauing  run  herselfe  out  of  breath 
here;  you  know  all,  the  Lord  teach  mee  what  to  doe." 

Gravesend,  4  of  7ber.  Be  sure  you  never  let  ray  wife 
come  away  from  thence  without  my  leave  &  then  you  love 
me," 

16-9-1646.  The  elder  Winthrop  writes  to  his  son  at 
Fisher's  Island  near  Pequod  Eiver:  "Mrs.  Peters  went 
three  days  since  to  Salem ;"  fixing  her  arrival  at  least 
approximately,  and  about  this  time  he  writes  again:  "My 
sister  Peter  who  is  now  as  she  used  to  be,"  indicating  at 
least  temporary  amelioration  in  her  mental  condition.* 

Peter  to  Winthrop,  May  5,  1647.     "Deere  Brother — 

*  Letters  to  the  Wiutkrops :  Mass.  Historical  Collections. 


PREACHER,   PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  33 

my  coming  was  resolved  vpon  by  this  ship,  but  the  Lord 
hath  put  in  two  impediments,  the  one  my  want  of  health 
which  is  much  impayred,  and  21y  my  land  given  by 
parliament  is  but  even  now  turning  into  money.  It  is 
worth  £211  per  annum  and  I  am  putting  it  of.  By  the 
next  ship  I  intend  to  come  if  God  give  me  measure  of 
strength.  ...  I  pray  (Sir)  haue  an  eye  to  my  wife,  if 
she  will  come  hither  I  hynder  not,  but  I  thought  she  might 
bee  better  there.  .  .  Ah,  sweet  New  England  I  &  yet 
sweeter  if  dissensions  bee  not  among  you  if  you  will  giue 
any  incouragemeut  to  those  that  are  godly  &  shall  differ, 
etc." 

To  John  Winthrop  the  elder,  May  5  1647.  «  For  my 
selfe  I  intend  New  England  shall  share  in  my  comforts 
and  wish  men  tender  in  forsaking  it,  I  am  sure  my  spirit 
these  2  or  3  yeers  hath  bin  resiles  about  my  stay  here, 
and  nothing  vnder  heauen  but  the  especiall  hand  of  the 
Lord  could  stay  mee  :  I  pray  assure  all  the  Country  so, 
for  I  must  write  vnto  your  selfe  now  instead  of  many, 
being  surprizd  as  I  am  hauing  a  full  purpose  to  come  in 
this  ship  really :  my  bookes  you  may  tell  the  elders  I 
shall  bring  with  mee  and  it  may  be  some  thing  else,  but 
truly  doe  find  things  goe  not  well  in  my  absence,  and 
therefore  would  bee  glad  to  see  what  I  haue  disposed  of 
by  myselfe  :  thus  1  Quaere 

1.  Why  Mr  Payne  of  Ipswich  should  haue  120  and  od 
pounds  from  my  goods  when  neuer  more  then  £60  were 
here  demaunded  ? 

2.  Why  concluded  without  a  word  from  mee  or  any 
on  this  side  the  water  for  mee  ? 

3.  Why  my  goods  sold  at  halfe  the  value  to  pay  him 
which  they  cost  here  ? 

4.  Why  my  wife  should  dispose   of  anything  of  my 
goods  without  your  order,  or  the  deacons,  etc.  ? 

5.  Why  Rob.  Saltonstall  should  trouble  Shirt*  of  the 
noate  and  others  for  100 1  his  father  owed  mee  for  bread 
for  his  family,  and  made  mee  be  two  years  getting  of  my 
due,  which  his  son  it  seems  would  haue  payd  back  agayne, 
the  attempt  being  monstruous  thus  to  thinke  to  cheat  his 
father's  frends. 

*  A  Conveyancer. 
H18T.  COLL.  VOL.  XXXVUI          3 


34  HUGH  PETER: 

6.  Why  I  should  pay  so  much  money  for  the  Country 
viz  :  £200  and  neuer  considered  of  &  as  Mr  Pocock  sadly 
complayns,  and  why  Sherly  should  not  haue  his  £110 
own  agreement,  vizt,  to  relinquish  the  business  of 
Plymouth  ? 

These  things  I  leave  to  your  wisdom."  .... 

Upon  the  return  of  Thomas  Peter  to  England,  in  1647, 
he  finds  that  "his  brother  was  in  Chester  preaching," and 
in  April  he  writes  from  London  to  Wiuthrop  :  "  Sir,  After 
a  sad  travaile  from  Mullaga,  but  a  fair  one  from  thence 
hither,  I  haue  met  with  a  sad  afflicted  brother  which  is 
more  greevous  to  me  than  I  wille  expresse.  He  needs 
much  of  your  prayers,  and  if  all  the  sages  of  Greece  were 
heere  cannot  yield  him  a  contenting  counsell."*  .  . 

May  17, 1647.  Hugh  Peter  having  given  his  share  of 
a  small  barque  to  the  town  of  Salem,  the  town  received 
of  Robert  Codman  £8-15-0  for  profits  which  it  had  made. 

June,  1647.  "Mr  Peters  went  to  the  King  at  Newmarket, 
and  had  much  discourse  with  hini."f 

"  Mr  Peters  likewise  was  at  Newmarket,  and  had  much 
discourse  with  his  Majesty  :  His  Majesty  told  Mr  Peters, 
that  he  had  often  heard  talk  of  him,  but  did  not  believe 
he  had  that  Solidity  in  him  he  found  by  his  Discourse,  that 
he  would  have  further  Conference  with  him  another  time. 
Mr  Peters  moved  His  Majesty  to  hear  him  preach  but 
His  Majesty  refused.''^ 

(Sat. ) Sept.  18,1647.  "After  a  sermon  in  Putney  Church 
the  General,  many  great  Officers,  Field-Officers,  inferior 
Officers  and  Adjutators,  met  in  the  Church  ;  debated  the 
Proposals  of  the  Army  towards  a  Settlement  of  this 
bleeding  Nation  ;  altered  some  things  in  them  ; — and  were 
very  full  of  the  Sermon,  which  had  been  preached  by  Mr 
Peters."§ 

Nov.  11, 1 647.  "&  Mr  Pet's  is  to  pay  501  to  ye  colledge."|| 
[Harvard  College.] 

"Wednesday,  December  22,  1647,  was,  according  to 
Appointment,  kept  as  a  Solemn  Fast  by  the  General  and 

*  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  4th  series,  vil,  p.  428. 

iWhltelocke,  ed.  1732,  p.  254. 
Rush  worth's  Collections,  vi,  578. 
Rushworth's  Collections,  vil,  791. 
Records  of  Mass.  Bay  Colony. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  35 

Officers  ;  the  Duties  of  the  Day  were  performed  by  divers 
of  the  Officers,  amongst  whom  there  was  a  sweet  Harmony. 
The  Lieutenant  General,  Commissary  General  Ireton, 
Col.  Tichburne,  Col.  Hewson,  Mr  Peters  and  other  officers, 
pray'd  very  fervently  and  pathetically :  this  continued 
from  Nine  in  the  Morning  till  Seven  at  Night."* 

June  26,  1648.  Thomas  Peter  writes  "  My  brother  is 
now  before  Pembroke  with  Cromwell  who  expects  to  carry 
the  castle  shortly." 

In  the  beginning  of  the  same  month  June,  1648,  Mr 
Peter  went  across  to  Milford  Haven  arid  from  the  Lion, 
a  parliamentary  ship  riding  there,  got  "  two  drakes,  two 
demi-culverins  and  two  whole  culverins,  and  safely 
conveyed  them  to  the  Leaguer ;  with  which  new 
implements  an  instantaneous  array  was  made  and  a 
storming  thereupon  followed  but  without  success. "f 

Sept.  7,  "  Peter  with  Messrs  Marshall  and  Caryl  was 
requested  to  perform  religious  service  before  the  House 
the  next  day  which  was  Fast." 

1648.  On  the  day  of  Pride's  Purge,  in  the  afternoon, 
Mr  Peters  arrived  at  the  House  and  released  Fiennes  and 
Rudyerd,  giving  to  those  who  inquired  by  what  authority 
they  had  been  detained  the  short  answer :  "By  the  power 
of  the  sword."} 

December  20,  he  was  desired  to  officiate  before  the 
House  on  the  Friday  following  in  St.  Margaret's  Church. 

January,  1648-9.  "Upon  a  conference  betwixt  the  King 
and  Mr  Hugh  Peters,  and  the  King  desiring  that  one  of 
his  own  chaplains  might  be  permitted  to  come  to  him  for 
his  satisfaction  in  some  scruples  of  conscience,  Doctor 
Juxon  Bishop  of  London  was  ordered  to  go  to  His 
Majesty  ."§ 

January  21,  1648-9.  Peter  preached  before  the  High 
Court  and  on  the  28th  in  St.  James'  Chapel :  this  was  two 
days  before  the  King's  death.  || 

March  8,  1649.  "Yesterday  Mr  Peters  presenting 
Hamilton's  Petition  made  many  believe  he  would  escape." 

*  Rushworth's  Collections,  VII,  815. 
t  Carlyle's  Cromwell,  Vol.  i,  p.  648. 
i  Gardiner's  Great  Civil  War,  in,  639. 
§  Whitelocke,  ed.  1732,  p.  370. 

This  was  his  celebrated  sermon  on  the  text  "  To  bind  their  kings  In  chains 
and  their  nobles  in  fetters." 


36  HUGH  PETER: 

The  Duke  of  Hamilton  commanded  the  Scottish  forces  that 
marched  into  England  and  were  defeated  at  Preston.  A 
report  was  current  in  New  England  that  Peter  had  taken 
the  Duke  prisoner  with  his  own  hand.  Peter's  petition 
was  unsuccessful,  and  Hamilton  was  executed  the  next  day. 
Before  his  death  he  "bade  Peter  adieu  &  embraced  him." 

March  20,  1649.  Sir  Henry  Mildmay,*  Sir  Jus. 
Hamilton  and  Mr  Hillard  to  be  a  committee  to  receive  what 
Mr  Peters,  or  any  whom  he  may  bring  with  him,  have  for 
the  benefit  of  the  commonwealth,  and  to  thank  him  for 
the  same. 

March  29,  1649.  Mr  Peter's  proposition  for  building 
frigates  was  referred  to  the  same  committee  [that  is  the 
Admiralty  committee] . 

May  9,  1649.  Twenty  pounds  to  be  payed  to  Col. 
Humphreys  to  enable  him  to  go  to  Mr  Peters  with  a 
physician. 

May  9,  1649.  Council  of  State  to  Hugh  Peters:— 
"  We  are  sorry  of  your  sickness  at  Sandwich,  and  doubting 
whether  you  can  have  there  physicians  acquainted  with 
your  condition  have  desired  Col.  Humphreys  to  visit  you 
and  bring  a  physician  to  consult  with  Dr  Gourdon  and  one 
shall  be  left  fit  to  take  care  of  your  health;  being  very 
sensible  of  your  faithful  service,  we  would  not  be  wanting 
in  anything  that  might  tend  to  3'our  recovery." 

In  the  summer  of  1649,  Peter  is  chaplain  to  the 
parliamentary  forces  sent  against  the  rebels  in  Ireland. 

September,  1649.  A  proclamation  was  made  by  the 
Parliament  wherein  was  stated  "that  Mr  Peters  the 
Minister,  was  arrived  at  Dublin,  and  that  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Troubles  in  Ireland  he  led  a  Brigade  against  the 
Rebels,  and  came  off  with  honour  and  victory,  and  the 
like  was  now  expected  from  him."f 

From  Dublin,  Sept.  15,  1649,  he  writes  to  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Commons  : 

"Sir,— The  Truth  is,  Drogheda  is  taken,  3552  of  the 
Enemy  slain  and  64  of  ours.  Col.  Castles,  and  C.  Symonds 
of  note.  Ashton  the  Governour  killed,  none  spared,  we 
have  all  Tyron,  and  Dundalk,  and  are  marching  to 

*  Member  from  Waldeu.  f  Whitelocke,  ed.  1782,  p.  426. 


PREACHES,    PATBIOT,   PHILANTHROPIST.  37 

Kilkenny.     I  come  now  from  giving  thanks  in  the  great 
Church.    We  have  all  our  Army  well  landed. 

I  am  yours 

Hugh  Peter." 


»* 


The  same  year  Peter  writes  to  John  Winthrop,  jr  :  "I 
pray  you  take  speciall  notice,  with  Mr  Gott,  of  what  I  haue 
at  Salem  ;  as  also  100£  Mr  Downing's  house  is  bound  for, 
as  also  £20  Mr  Endecott  hovse  with  all  my  other  matters. 
My  intention  is  you  and  yours  should  bee  the  better  for 
it,  as  I  have  signified  formelly.  Let  Mr  Gott  take  the 
income  of  all  and  bee  accountable,  my  child  hauing 
another  portion."  .  . 

The  same  year  he  sends  a  loadstone  to  the  younger 
Winthrop. 

October  12,  1649.  John  Eliot  writes  to  Hugh  Peter: 
"  The  Lord  hath  greatly  delighted  to  improve  you,  and 
eminently  your  talent  is  increased  to  ten  talents  for  our 
Lord  and  Master's  honour  and  use,  and  doubt  not  but 
your  crowne  shall  be  answerable.  You  are  indeed  much 
envyed,  evil  spoken  of,  smitten  with  the  tongue.  No 
matter.  Be  not  troubled  at  what  men  say,  when  they 
speak  evillof  you,  seeing  you  cannot  but  see,  yea,  all  men 
know  it,  God  dealeth  well  by  you,  the  Lord  doth  improve, 
accept,  succeed  you.  I  cannot  wish  you  in  New  England 
so  long  as  you  are  of  such  great  use  and  service  in  the  Old ; 
not  because  I  love  you  not,  but  because  I  love  you  and  the 
cause  of  God,  which  you  do  totis  viribus  pursue  and 
prosper  in.  I  have  a  request  unto  you  in  behalfe  of  these 
poor  Indians.  We  are  about  to  make  a  Town  and  bring 
them  to  a  cohabitation  and  civility,  for  the  accomplishment 
whereof  we  want  a  magazine  of  all  sorts  of  edge  tools 
and  instruments  of  husbandry,  for  clothing,  etc,  That 
successful  and  reasonable  magazine  of  Provisions,  which 
you  were  a  lively  instrument  to  procure  so  seasonably  at 
Bristol!,  for  the  relief  of  the  army  at  Pembroke,  doth 
incourage  and  imbolden  me  to  request  this  favour,  that  you 
would  be  pleased  to  use  that  wisdom  and  interest  the  Lord 
hath  given  you  in  the  hearts  of  his  people  to  further  this 
magazine  for  the  poore  Indians. "f 

*  Whltelocke,  ed.  1732,  p.  427. 

t  Felt's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  New  England,  Vol.  n,  p.  16. 


38  HUGH  PETEE: 

March  25,  1650.  "From  Milford  Haven  [came  news] 
that  the  country  thereabouts  did  unanimously  take  the 
Engagement ;  that  Mr  Peters  opened  the  matter  to  them 
and  did  much  to  encourage  them  to  take  it."* 

Endecott  writing  to  the  younger  Winthrop  from  Salem. 
Sept.  28,  1650,  says:  "Mr.  Peters  is  Colnell  of  a  foote 
regiment  in  Ireland." 

Jan.  2, 1650-1.  "  Mr  Peters  [is  appointed]  to  be  Consul 
at  and  Alusia  [Andalusia?]  and  have  credentials  to  the  King 
of  Spain  and  instructions  about  the  business  of  the  fleet 
going  southward  and  to  attend  the  Council  to-morrow." 

From  December  to  March,  1650-51,  on  his  return  from 
Ireland,  he  is  very  ill,  and  was  attended  for  ten  weeks  by 
Dr.  Young  who  testified  against  him  at  his  trial. 

Letter  to  the  Missionary  Corporation  in  England  from 
Wm.  Steele,  dated  April  17,  1651,  refers  to  charges  of 
mismanagement  of  funds  by  Peter  and  Welde.  "As  for  Mr 
Peters  and  Mr  Welde  they  haue  sufficiently  satisfied  vs 
with  what  hath  been  formerly  answered." 

March  6,  1651.  Mr  Peter  to  be  paid  his  quarterly 
allowance  of  £200  a  year  as  it  grows  due. 

November  6,  1651.  A  sermon  to  be  preached  in  the 
chapel  at  Whitehall  every  Friday  at  5  p.  m.  by  Mr  Peters, 
and  notice  here  to  be  given  to  him,  to  begin  on  the  14th 
iust. 

December  11,  Mr  Sterry,  Mr  Peters  and  Mr  Caryl  to 
be  three  ministers  to  preach  before  council  in  Whitehall 
Chapel,  as  they  did  last  year,  with  the  same  allowance. 

January  20,  1651.  "Vote  that  Mr  Hale,  Mr  Steel,  Mr 
Cocke,  Mr  Manby,  Mr  Sadler,  Colonel  Blunt,  Sir  Henry 
Blunt,  Mr  Berners,  Major  General  Desborongh,Mr  Moyer, 
Colonel  Tomlinson,  Mr  Fountaine,  Alderman  Fowker, 
Mr  H.  Peters,  Major  Packer,  Sir  William  Roberts,  Mr 
Meltwold,  Mr  Mansell,  Mr  Rushworth,  Mr  Sparrow,  and 
Sir  Anthony  Ashley  Cooper,  be  the  Committee  to  take 
into  Consideration  what  Inconveniences  there  are  in  the 
Law,  how  the  Mischiefs  which  grow  from  delays,  the 
chargeableness,  and  irregularities  in  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Law  may  be  prevented,  and  the  speediest  way  to 
prevent  the  same. 

*  The  engagement  of  adhesion  to  the  Parliament.— Whltelocke,  ed.  1738,  p.  447. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  39 

"  And  to  present  their  Opinions  to  the  Committee  of 
Parliament  appointed  for  that  purpose,  and  they  or  any 
seven  of  them  have  power  to  send  for  any  Person  to  confer 
with  them  in  this  business,  and  for  Records."* 

Jan.  31,  1651.  Whitelocke  says,  in  this  connection: 
"  Mr  Hugh  Peters  the  minister  who  understood  but  little 
of  the  law  was  very  opinionative,  and  would  frequently 
mention  some  proceedings  of  law  in  Holland  wherein  he 
was  altogether  mistaken. wf 

1651.  "Soe  wee  toucke  the  tyme  to  goe  to  visit  Mr 
Fetters  at  his  chamber.  I  was  mery  with  him  and  called 
him  the  ArchBP :  of  Canterberye,  in  regard  of  his 
attendance  by  ministers  and  gentelmen,  &  it  passed  very 
well;  soe  he  calling  the  Maiour,|  sonu  Winthrop,  I  put 
him  in  mynd  to  remember  his  eldest  sonn  in  New  England, 
&  that  he  would  be  pleassed  to  giue  yew  his  house  at 
Salem,  he  said  he  cared  not  if  he  did.  I  desired  he  would 
write  to  yew  by  me  to  that  purposse,  he  promised  he 
would  write  by  me,  and  I  tould  him  I  would  call  of  him, 
though  his  lodging  were  aboue  two  myles  from  myne,  & 
did  so,  but  was  gone  to  Greneage  about  a  speshall  accation, 
conserneing  Mrs  Jaine  Puckering,  a  knight's  daughter  & 
haire,  that  was  stolne  &  maryed  by  an  vnworthy  person, 
which  manage  wos  disannulled. 

"I  sawe  your  sister,  for  shee  wos  then  in  London,  and 
Mr  Potters  tould  his  sonn§  that  he  must  bring  his  wife  to 
waite  of  him,  for  he  did  see  gentelwomen  did  waite  of  him, 
Mrs  Saltonstall,  Mr  Rich.  Saltonstall  wife,  &  other 
gentell  women  being  thereto  speake  with  him,  which  wee 
accordingly  did  observe  him  ther  in  another  daye,  &  would 
haue  gone  with  vs  to  dyne  at  Sir  Hen.  Vaiue,  but  he  would 
not."  .  .  . — William  Coddington  to  John  Winthrop,  Jr.|| 

"About  the  same  time  Mr  Peters,  who  still  kept  fair 
with  those  at  Whitehall,  made  me  a  visit :  and  in  our 
conversation  about  the  publick  affairs  I  freely  told  him  my 
opinion  concerning  the  actions  of  Cromwell,  endeavouring 
to  make  him  sensible  not  only  of  his  injustice,  but  great 

*  Whitelocke,  ed.  1732,  p.  520. 

t  Whitelocke,  ed.  1732,  p.  521. 

t  Major  Stephen  Winthrop.  brother  to  John  Winthrop,  Jr. 

§  Probably  Thomas  or  Sanmel  Reade. 

II  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  4th  series,  Vol.  vii,  p.  881. 


40  HUGH  PETER: 

imprudence,  thus  to  sacrifice  the  commonwealth  to  his 
ambition,  and  by  every  step  he  had  lately  taken  to 
strengthen  the  hands  of  the  common  enemy,  whereby  he 
would  undoubtedly  open  a  way  for  the  return  of  the  family 
of  the  late  king,  who  would  not  fail  to  do  all  that  revenge 
could  inspire  them  with  ;  whereas  if  he  had  made  use  of 
his  power  to  establish  the  just  liberties  of  the  nation,  or 
could  yet  be  persuaded  so  to  do,  he  might  live  more 
honoured  and  esteemed,  have  the  pleasure  and  satisfaction 
arising  from  so  generous  an  action, when  he  died,  and  leave 
his  own  family,  together  with  the  whole  body  of  the  people, 
in  a  most  happy  and  flourishing  condition.  He  confessed 
that  what  I  had  said  was  most  true,  but  added  that  there 
was  not  a  man  about  him  who  had  courage  enough  to  tell 
him  so  ;  that  for  his  part  he  had  observed  him  immediately 
after  the  victory  at  "Worcester  to  be  so  elevated  that  he 
then  began  to  fear  what  was  since  come  to  pass ;  and  that 
he  told  a  friend  with  whom  he  then  quartered  in  his  return 
to  London  that  he  was  inclined  to  believe  Cromwell  would 
endeavour  to  make  himself  king."* 

In  spite  of  the  exciting  and  interesting  condition  of 
national  affairs  he  longs  for  the  land  where  he  once  dwelt : 
"  Oh  that  I  euer  left  New-England  ;  or  had  neuer  had  this 
wife  so  sent  to  me  !  Oh  deare  Sir  !  My  dayes  are  gone 
and  I  looke  to  my  end  apace,"  he  writes  to  the  younger 
Winthrop  in  1652. 

At  this  time  affairs  were  most  prosperous  with  him 
and  the  condition  of  the  country  appearing  to  be  settled 
he  advises  the  younger  Winthrop  to  come  to  England, 
instancing  his  brother,  Major,  or  now  Colonel,  Wiuthrop's 
advancement  and  other  promising  conditions. 

March  2,  1652.  "Mr  Peters  to  preach  for  Mr  Caryl  in 
Whitehall  Chapel  on  Lord's  day  afternoon  until  his 
return." 

20  2mo  1652  "  Mr.  Peters  is  well  at  Whitehall."— Roger 
Williams  to  J.  Winthrop,  jr.f 

In  1653,  Dutch  ambassadors  were  sent  to  England 
(their  fleet  having  been  almost  destroyed)  to  treat  for 
peace.  They  apply  to  Peter  and  empower  him  to  offer 

*  Ludlow's  Memoirs,  ed.  1771,  p.  239. 

t  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  4th  series,  Vol.  vi,  p.  286. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  41 

£300,000  for  peace,  but  were  unsuccessful.  Again  they 
applied  to  Cromwell  who  gave  them  their  wish  in  1654. 

Peter,  always  very  friendly  toward  Holland,  was  much 
disturbed  by  the  war  with  that  country  and  even  wrote  to 
Sir  George  Ayscough  taking  him  to  task  for  making  war 
upon  his  co-religionists.  Sir  George  made  no  answer, 
but  handed  the  letter  to  the  Parliament  whereby  Mr  Peters 
was  severely  reprimanded  and  was,  for  some  time,  in 
disgrace. 

That  Peter's  estimate  of  himself  was  a  true  one  and  that 
he  was  frequently  lacking  in  judgment,  is  proved  by 
several  instances,  but  to  a  rather  alarming  extent  in  this 
case :  A  letter  of  intelligence  from  Holland,  without 
signature  and  bearing  the  date  of  Sept.  26,  1653  (N.  S.), 
is  found  among  Thurloe's  State  Papers  (Vol.  i,  p.  484) 
to  this  effect:  "I  cannot  omit  to  certify  you,  that  Mr 
Hugh  Peters  (whoe  I  believe  is  an  honest  man)  doth 
correspond  at  Amsterdam  with  a  woman  called  Mrs. 
Grace  Crisp,  concerninge  state  affairs  which  letters  are 
communicated  to  Mr  John  Webster  of  ...  whoe  is 
knowne  a  profest  malignant  .  .  .  great  mischief 
can  be  done  to  the  commonwealth."  .  .  . 

From  the  same  source(Vol.  i,p.  583)  and  also  testifying 
to  his  lack  of  judgment  comes  a  letter  from  Jongestall  to 
His  Excellency  Frederic  Count  of  Nassau,  Stadtholder 
and  Captain  general  of  Friesland  —  "Mr  Peters  hath  writ 
a  letter  to  the  queen  [of  Sweden]  by  the  lord  Whitelocke, 
wherein  he  relates  the  reasons  why  they  put  their  king 
to  death,  and  dissolved  this  last  parliament,  and  withal 
sends  to  her  majesty  a  great  English  dog,  and  a  cheese  for 
a  present." 

Whitelocke,  it  seems,  was  much  discomposed  at  being 
the  bearer  of  these  peculiar  gifts,  but  the  queen  "  merrily 
and  with  expressions  of  contentment  received  them," 
"  though  from  so  mean  a  hand."* 

In  March,  1653-4,  "Thirty-eight  chosen  men,  the 
acknowledged  flower  of  English  Puritanism,  were 
nominated  by  this  ordinance  [March  20th,  same  year],  to 
form  a  Supreme  Commission  for  the  Trial  of  Public 

*  Whitelocke :  Journal  of  Embassy  to  Sweden. 


42  HUGH   PETER : 

Preachers.  Any  person  pretending  to  hold  a  church- 
living,  or  lay  tithes,  or  clergy  dues  in  England  has  first 
to  be  tried  and  approved  by  these  men.  Of  the  thirty- 
eight,  nine  are  laymen,  our  friend  old  Sir  Francis  Rouse 
at  the  head  of  them  and  twenty-nine  are  clergy.  His 
Highness  we  find  has  not  much  inquired  of  what  sect 
they  are :  has  known  them  to  be  Independents,  to  be 
Presbyterians,  one  or  two  of  them  to  be  even  Anabaptists ; 
has  been  careful  only  of  one  characteristic,  —  That  they 
are  men  of  wisdom,  and  had  the  root  of  the  matter  in 
them,  Owen,  Goodwin,  Sterry,  Marshall,  Manton,  and 
others  not  yet  quite  unknown  to  men,  were  among  these 
clerical  Triers :  the  acknowledged  Flower  of  Spiritual 
England  at  that  time;  and  intent  as  Oliver  himself  was, 
with  an  awful  earnestness,  on  actually  having  the  Gospel 
taught  to  England."*  Peter  was  one  of  the  thirty-eight 
triers. 

He  appears  to  have  much  trouble  with  his  property  in 
New  England  and  repeatedly  complains  of  its  mismanage- 
ment. In  1654  he  writes :  "I  wonder  they  would  sell 
my  house  at  Salem  to  Mr  Endecot  for  20£  whereas  by  my 
letter  I  gaue  it  you  and  all  I  had  there,  in  trust  for  my 
daughter,  if  shee  came  ouer,  and  if  not  to  you  and  yours, 
and  that  is  my  meaning,  and  pray  you  to  looke  to  it,  for 
Mr  Endecot  hath  not  payd  me  a  penny,  owing  mee  much 

more Here  is  900  £  per  annum  for  the 

Indians,  I  wish  it  were  imployed  for  the  English  poore 
there." 

3.  1.  1654.  He  writes  to  "my  good  frend  Mr.  Gotte 
deacon  at  Salem  now  at  Wenham.  My  deere  Frend  I 
had  yours,  and  truly  do  lone  you  hartily,  though  I 
haue  bin  some  tymes  troubled  at  my  busines  having  no 
returnes  &  you  selling  my  house  for  20£  and  lending 
out  my  bookes  &  things  and  sending  home  nothing  to 
meo,  but  only  what  Spencer  sent  a  note  of  a  colt  and 
three  sheepe  etc.  though  I  am  no  way  angry  with  you,  for 
I  loue  you  hartily  but  great  payments  haue  gone  forth 
you  write  &  truly  I  know  no  debts  but  such  as  Mr.  Payne 
made  vpon  mee.  My  mynd  is  that  Mr.  John  Wiiithrop 

*  Carlyle'B  Oliver  Cromwell,  Vol.  II,  p.  74. 


PREACHER,   PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  43 

might  bee  spoke  with  about  what  I  haue  to  whom  I  assigned 
it  long  synce,  vpou  some  conditions  though  :  I  profess  no 
thing  but  want  of  health  (I  thinke)  could  detayne  me  from 
New  England  such  is  my  loue  to  the  place,  &  lonely  it 
will  bee  yet,  I  pray  doe  but  for  mee,  as  I  would  doe  for 
you,  Mr.  Downing  owd  me  180£,  nobody  would  seise  the 
horse*  he  made  oner  to  mee,  and  now  hee  is  here  with 
him  to  make  hast  after  him.f  Salute  your  good  wife, 
pay  your  selfe  for  wat  charge  I  put  you  to,  &  loue 

Yours  Hu  :  Peter. "{ 

Roger  Williams  writes  on  the  12th  of  July,  1654,  soon 
after  returning  from  England,  to  John  Winthrop  of 
Connecticut :  "I  had  no  letter  for  you,  but  yours  are  all 
well.  I  was  at  the  lodgings  of  Major  Winthrop§  and  Mr. 
Peters,  but  I  missed  them.  Your  brother  flourishes  in 
good  esteem  &  is  eminent  for  maintaining  the  freedom  of 
the  conscience  as  to  matters  of  belief,  religion  &  worship. 
Your  father  Peters  preacheth  the  same  dictum  though  not 
so  zealously  as  some  years  since ;  yet  cries  out  against 
New  England  rigidities  and  persecutions,  their  civil 
injuries  and  wrongs  to  himself  and  their  unchristian 
dealings  with  him  in  excommunicating  his  distracted  wife. 
All  this  he  told  me  in  his  lodgings  at  Whitehall,  those 
lodgings  which  I  was  told  were  Canterbury's ;  but  he 
himself  told  me  that  the  library  wherein  we  were  together, 
was  Canterbury's,  and  given  him  by  the  Parliament.  His 
wife  lives  from  him,  not  wholly,  but  much  distracted.  He 
tells  me  he  had  but  £200  a  year  and  he  allowed  her 
fourscore  per  annum  of  it.  Surely  Sir,  the  most  holy 
Lord  is  most  wise  in  all  the  trials  he  exerciseth  his  people 
with.  He  told  me  that  his  affliction  from  his  wife  stirred 
him  up  to  action  abroad,  &  when  success  tempted  him  to 
pride,  the  bitterness  in  his  bosom  comforts  was  a  cooler 
&  a  bridle  to  him."|| 

Even  now  Peter  had  more  than  this  one  affliction  to 
embitter  his  life.  Money  is  owed  him  in  many  quarters 

*  This  Is  horse  In  the  text,  but  evidently  a  mistake  as  other  reference  is  made 
to  Mr.  Downing's  house  in  this  connection. 

t  The  exuberant  use  of  pronouns  without  subjects,  by  the  old  worthies,  la  a 
great  trial  to  the  modern  compiler. 

JMass.  Hist.  Coll. ,3d  series,  Vol.  I,  p.  179. 

§  Son  of  the  governor  and  brother  of  John  Winthrop,  jr. 

||  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  3d  series,  Vol.  x. 


44  HUGH  PETER: 

which  he  cannot  collect,  and  his  estate  in  New  England 

O 

is  greatly  mismanaged.  Reappears  to  have  lent  money 
to  many  persons  and  to  have  been  in  debt  to  John 
Winthrop,  jr.,  some  hundreds  of  pounds  in  consequence, 
whence  came  a  lessening  of  their  early  intimacy  and 
affection  and  the  Governor  of  Connecticut,  who  was 
formerly  addressed  as  "  My  Deere  Hart,"  and  "take  notice 
I  loue  you  as  myne  owne  soule"  in  1649,  is  now  only: 

Whitehall,  10-4-54. 

"  My  worthy  Frend.  I  heerd  from  you  and  your  wife 
also  the  last  yeere,  and  if  I  delighted  in  writing  long  you 
would  have  some,  but  you  know  I  doe  not,  and  the  many 
vnkindneses  I  had  from  New  England  hath  much  deadend 
me  in  these  things,  rather  contenting  myselfe  with  what 
I  can  doe  here,  then  further  to  be  troublesome  to  them : 
They  owe  me  much  money  which  I  would  freely  give  to 
your  wife  and  children  if  they  would  pay  it  ...  For 
your  wife's  demand  of  100£  I  shall  not  be  idle  therein. 
My  charge  is  here  so  great  &  my  experience*  that  I  can 
doe  little  for  my  friends,  being  oppresed  with  myne  own 
&  my  brothers  and  sisters  necessity,  yet  I  have  sent  you 
a  small  token  .  .  .  Mr.  Got  writes  of  the  sale  of  my 
house ;  Mr.  Downing  is  not  honest,  owes  me  100  £  for 
which  his  house  is  bound  to  mee.  These  are  not  good 
dealings.  Mr.  Endicott  owes  me  money,  pays  none.  I 
payd  20  £  in  gold  to  Mr.  Saltonstall  also  for  him,  but 
hardly  acknowledged  and  that  also  I  wish  you  had."  .  .  . 

Nov.  9,  1654.  A  letter  from  the  Council  of 
Massachusetts  is  directed  to  "the  Reverend  and  much 
honored  Mr.  Hugh  Peter."  They  apologize  for  their  silence 
&  then,  "yet  such  is  our  confidence  of  your  zeal  for  God, 
your  real  and  cordial  affection  to  the  cause  of  God  a  nd 
the  liberties  and  welfare  of  his  people  here,  that  we  are 
encouraged ;  our  necessities  at  this  time  also  compelling  us 
to  make  use  of  all  our  friends,  amongst  whom  we  cannot 
but  rank  yourself  among  the  chief,  and  are  confident  you 
will  not  suffer  us  to  be  mistaken  therein  but  that  in  due 
time  we  shall  see  Amicus  return. "f 

*  Expense? 

t  Felt's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  New  England,  Vol.  n,  p.  112. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  45 

Feb.  23,  1654.  Joseph  Caryl,  Hugh  Peters,  Peter 
Sterry,  ministers  one-fourth  years  salary,  £50  each. 

Jan.  31,  1655.  Peter  received  £150  for  three-fourths 
years  salary  at  Whitehall. 

Dec.  21,  1655.  He  received  £100  for  a  half-years 
salary  at  Whitehall. 

On  the  opening  of  the  New  House  at  the  second 
Parliament,  January  25,  1657-8.  "Mr.  Peter's  moving 
exercise  "  is  mentioned. 

The  latter  part  of  his  life  was  embittered  by  every 
variety  of  vile  accusation,  the  least  of  which  was  his 
reputed  theft  of  the  crown  jewels,  —  and  to  which  he 
refers  in  a  letter:  "Were  I  not  a  Christian,  I  am  a 
Gentleman  by  birth,  &  from  that  extract  do  scorn  to 
engage  in  the  vile  things  suggested." 

William  Hooke,  writing  to  John  Winthrop,  Jr., 
April  13,  1657,  says  :  "Mr  Peters  is  not  yet  thoroughly 
recovered  out  of  his  late  eclipse,  but  I  hear  better  of  his 
preaching  than  was  formerly  spoken  of  it."* 

His  ill  health  gave  him  much  uneasiness  and  at  times 
he  expressed  a  fear  that  "  he  would  outlive  his  parts,"  but 
the  Rev.  William  Hooke  writing  to  the  younger  Winthrop 
at  this  time,  says :  "Mr  Peters  is  in  good  health. "f 

January  25,  1657.  Peter  preached  a  sermon  before 
the  House,  in  which  he  said  "religion  was  left  by  our 
ancestors  (as,  for  instance,  Smithfield  and  latter  times), 
hot,  fiery  hot;  but  it  was  now  fallen  into  luke-warm 
bands :  We  do  not  boil  up  our  religion  to  the  height ; 
Other  nations  are  seeking  for  a  general  peace,  whilst  we, 
for  want  of  an  enemy,  are  scratching  one  another  -,  They 
say  they  will  come  over  and  choose  their  religion  when 
we  have  agreed  of  a  religion  :  and  when  we  use  our  God 
better  they  will  serve  him."J 

Mr.  Peters  was  intrusted  with  the  care  of  the  library 
at  St.  James'  and  the  following  advertisement  appeared 
in  this  connection:  "Feb.  1,  1658.  Tuesday,  Workmen 
being  employed  for  repairs  of  the  house  of  St.  James's, 
and  some  part  of  the  leads  over  the  library  there  being 

*  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  3d  series,  Vol.  I.  p.  183. 
tMass.  Hist.  Coll.,  4th  series,  Vol.  TO,  p.  687. 
t  Burton's  Diary,  Vol.  n,  p.  346. 


46  HUGH  PETER: 

to  be  amended,  some  idle  Persons  and  youths  took  an 
opportunity  to  get  into  the  library,  where  they  found 
a  good  store  of  medals,  some  of  gold,  others  of  silver,  the 
rest  of  brass ;  which,  for  their  rarity  and  antiquity,  had 
formerly  been  collected  and  were  still  preserved  there. 
This  they  took  to  be  treasure,  and  seized  it  as  prize,  divers 
of  them  filling  their  pockets ;  some  of  which  were 
apprehended  before  they  could  get  away,  and  are  since 
committed  to  the  Gate-house,  by  which  means,  many  of 
the  medals  are  recovered,  and  more  it  is  hoped  will  be. 
But  many  are  like  to  be  lost,  unless  such  persons  as  by 
accident  shall  have  a  view,  be  pleased  to  discover  them, 
These  are,  therefore,  to  desire  all  goldsmiths,  and  other 
persons  whatsoever,  that  in  case  such  things  shall  be 
offered  to  them,  they  would  take  care  to  apprehend  the 
parties  and  give  notice  thereof  to  Mr.  Hugh  Peters  at 
WhiteHall."* 

The  following  letter  from  Colonel  Lockhart  to 
Secretary  Thurloe,  appears  in  Thurloe's  State  Papers, 
Vol.  vii.,  p.  249. 

"From  Dunkirk,  July  8-18,  1658. 
May  it  please  your  Lordship, 

I  could  not  suffer  our  worthy  Friend,  Mr.  Peters, 
to  come  away  from  Dunkirk  without  a  Testimony  of  the 
great  Benefits  we  have  all  received  from  him  in  this 
Place,  where  he  hath  laid  himself  forth  in  great  Charity 
and  Goodness  in  Sermons,  Prayers,  and  Exhortations,  in 
visiting  and  relieving  the  Sick  and  wounded ;  and  in  all 
these,  profitably  applying  the  singular  Talent  God  hath 
bestowed  upon  him  to  the  chief  Ends  proper  for  our 
Auditory ;  For  he  hath  not  only  showed  the  Soldiers 
their  Duty  to  God,  and  pressed  it  Home  upon  them,  I 
hope  to  good  advantage,  but  hath  likewise  acquainted 
them  with  their  Obligations  of  Obedience  to  his  Highnes's 
Government,  and  Affection  to  his  Person.  He  hath 
laboured  amongst  us  here  with  much  Goodwill,  and  seems 
to  enlarge  his  Heart  towards  us,  and  Care  of  us  for  many 
other  Things,  the  Effects  whereof  I  design  to  leave  upon 
that  Providence  which  has  brought  us  hither.  It  were 

*  Burton's  Diary,  Vol.  rv,  p.  452. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  47 

superfluous  to  tell  your  Lordship  the  Story  of  our  present 
condition,  either  as  to  the  Civil  Government,  Works  or 
Soldiery.  He  who  hath  studied  all  these  more  than  any 
I  know  here  can  certainly  give  the  best  Account  of  them. 
Wherefore  I  commit  the  whole  to  his  Information,  and 
beg  your  Lordship's  casting  a  favourable  Eye  upon  such 
Propositions  as  he  will  offer  your  Lordship  for  the  Good 
of  the  Garrison.  I  am,  May  it  please  your  Lordship, 
Your  most  humble,  faithful  and  obedient  Servant, 

Will.  Lockhart." 

The  following  is  written  in  Lockhart's  own  hand : 

"My  Lord 

Mr  Peters  hath  taken  leave  at  least  three  or  four 
times,  but  still  something  falls  out,  which  hinders  his 
Return  to  England.  He  hath  been  twice  at  Bergh,  and 
hath  spoke  with  the  Cardinal*  three  or  four  times;  I  kept 
myself1  by,  and  had  a  care  that  he  did  not  importune  him 
with  too  long  Speeches. 

He  returns,  loaden  with  an  Account  of  all  Things  here, 
and  hath  undertaken  every  Man's  Business.  I  must  give 
him  that  Testimony,  that  he  gave  us  three  or  four  very 
honest  Sermons :  and  if  it  were  possible  to  get  him  to 
mind  Preaching,  and  to  forbear  the  troubling  himself  with 
other  Things,  he  would  certainly  prove  a  very  fit  Minister 
for  Soldiers.  I  hope  he  cometh  well  satisfied  from  this 
Place.  He  hath  often  insinuated  to  me  his  Desire  to  stay 
here,  if  he  had  a  Call.  Some  of  the  Officers  also  have  been 
with  me  to  that  Purpose ;  but  I  have  shifted  him  so 
handsomely,  as,  I  hope,  he  will  not  be  displeased  :  For  I 
have  told  him,  that  the  greatest  Service  he  can  do  us  is 
to  go  to  England,  and  carry  on  his  Propositions,  and  to 
own  us  in  all  our  other  Interest,  which  he  hath  undertaken 
with  much  zeal." 

The  first  letter  is  evidently  an  open  one ;  the  latter  is 
as  evidently  private ;  it  is  sufficiently  humorous  and  gives 
one  a  good  deal  of  insight  into  Peter's  character. 

July,  1658.  Mr  Hugh  Peters  related  in  the  House  the 
passages  of  Mardike  and  Dunkirk,  where  he  preached  to 
the  Soldiers,  f 

•Muzarln. 

f  Whitelocke,  ed.  1732,  p.  874. 


48  HUGH  PETER: 

Oct.  12,  1658.  The  Assembly  of  Savoy  in  London 
begin  their  session.  Peter  is  a  member. 

At  the  death  of  Cromwell  he  preached  a  funeral  sermon 
upon  the  text :  "  My  servant  Moses  is  dead." 

Sept.  7,  1658.  He  was  one  of  those  appointed  to  have 
mourning  for  the  late  Protector.  .  .  .  and  in  the  funeral 
procession,  among  the  chaplains  of  Whitehall  walked  "Mr 
Peters."* 

Jan.  28,  1658-59.  In  the  House  "  Mr.  Peters  prayed, 
standing,"  the  last  reference  we  have  to  his  officiating  in 
the  House. f 

"During  the  troubled  period  that  followed  [after 
Cromwell's  death],  he  took  little  part  in  public  aflairs, 
probably  owing  to  ill-health.  He  deplored  the  overthrow 
of  Richard  Cromwell,  protested  that  he  was  a  stranger  to 
it,  and  declared  that  he  looked  upon  the  whole  business 
as  'very  sinful  and  ruinous.'  When  Monck  marched  into 
England,  Peters  met  him  at  St.  Albans,  and  preached 
before  him  to  the  great  disgust  of  the  general's  orthodox 
chaplain  John  Price."  (Masere's  Select  Tracts,  n-756.) 
On  the  24  of  April  in  answer  to  some  inquiries  from  Monck, 
he  wrote  to  him  saying,  "  My  weak  head  and  crazy  carcass 
puts  me  in  mind  of  my  great  change,  and  therefore  thank 
God  that  these  twelve  months,  ever  since  the  breach  of 
Richard's  parliament,  I  have  meddled  with  no  public  affairs 
more  than  the  thoughts  of  mine  own  and  others  presented 
to  yourself.  (Manuscript  of  Mr  Leybourne  Popham)."J 

January  11,  1659-60,  he  was  deprived  of  his  lodgings 
at  Whitehall. 

January  29.  He  was  appointed  by  the  Parliament  to 
preach  before  General  Monk,  when  the  latter  was  on  his 
march  from  Scotland  to  London,  a  fast  day  sermon  at 
St.  Albans ;  when  it  was  said  "  he  troubled  the  General 
with  a  long  first  sermon  and  at  night  too  he  supererogated 
and  prayed  a  long  prayer  in  the  General's  quarters." 

In  May,  the  Council  of  State  ordered  his  apprehension. 
Pamphlets,  ballads  and  cartoons  appeared  against  him  in 
profusion ;  never  was  a  man  so  unpopular. 

*  Burton's  Diary,  p.  524. 

t  Burton's  Diary,  Vol.  nip.  11. 

t  Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  49 

A  letter  of  Roger  Williams  to  Winthrop  of  Connecticut, 
dated  February  6,  1659-60,  gives  premature  rumour  of 
Peter's  death  :  "  Sir,  you  were  not  long  since  the  son  of 
two  noble  fathers,  Mr  John  Winthrop  and  Mr  Hugh 
Peters.  It  is  said  they  are  both  extinguished.  Surely, 
I  did  ever  from  my  Soul,  honour  and  love  them  even  when 
their  judgments  led  them  to  afflict  me."* 

A  Letter  from  W—  W—  to  William  Gone  in  1660, 
has  the  following  : 

"May  the  19th.  The  Covt.  was  Burned  in  severall 
places  of  England,  and  caried  in  a  disgraceful  maner 
(fixed  to  Horse  Tailes)  through  the  streets,  with  the 
effigies  of  the  Protector,  Hugh  Peters,  and  others  whom 
they  had  a  mind  to  vilifie"f 

June  7,  1660.  Peter  and  Cornet  Joyce  were  ordered 
to  be  arrested.  Mark  the  coupling  of  their  names,  and 
it  is  clear  in  what  estimation  he  was  then  held. 

July  18.  He  was  excepted  from  the  Act  of  Indemnity, 
although  he  was  neither  one  of  the  seventy  Commissioners 
who  tried  the  King  nor  one  of  the  fifty-nine  who  signed 
the  death  warrant.  | 

From  this  time  until  his  arrest  he  was  in  hiding. 
"Peters,  who  had  hidden  himself  to  escape  apprehension, 
drew  up  a  policy  for  his  life,  which  he  contrived  to  get 
presented  to  the  House  of  Lords.  It  denies  that  he  took 
any  share  in  concerting  the  king's  death  and  gives  an 
account  of  his  public  career  substantially  agreeing  with 
the  defence  made  at  his  trial  and  the  statements  contained 
in  his  Last  Legacy. "§ 

A  letter  from  Andrew  Newport  to  Sir  Richard  Leveson 
states  that  "Hugh  Peter  was  taken  in  Kent  Street  on 
Sunday  last,"  that  Sunday  being  the  31st  of  August, 
1660.  He  was  at  once  committed  to  the  Tower.  A 
jingle  of  the  times  refers  to  him  thus : 

*  Life  of  Roger  Williams.— John  Knowlei. 

t  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  4th  series,  Vol.  vm,  p.  166. 

j  "Col.  Hacker,  who  was  one  of  those  to  whom  the  warrant  of  the  high  court 
of  justice,  for  the  execution  of  the  king,  had  been  directed,  together  with  Mr. 
Hugh  Peters,  and  the  two  persons  who  were  in  mask  upon  the  scaffold  when  he 
was  beheaded,  were  excepted  by  the  lords  both  for  life  and  estate."  Ludlow's 
Memoirs,  p.  394. 

§  Historical  MSS.  Commission,  7th  Report,  p.  115;  Dictionary  of  National 
Biography. 

HIST.   COLL.   VOL.   XXXVHI  4 


50  HUGH    PETER : 

"Sing  hay  ho,  my  honey,  my  heart  shall  never  rue; 
Twenty-four  traytors  now  for  a  penny 
And  into  the  bargain  Hugh."* 

The  Rev.  John  Davenport  writes  to  John  Winthrop, 
jr.,  from  Newhaven,  October  17,  1660:  "Dr.  Goodwin, 
Mr.  Nie,f  and  Mr.  Peters  are  in  prison  and  likely  to  lose 
their  lives." 

After  the  King's  restoration,  Mr  Peters  being 
apprehended  and  committed  to  prison,  his  Majesty  sent  a 
warrant  to  Sir  John  Robinson,  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower, 
to  obtain  information  of  his  royal  Father's  library ;  when 
Mr  Peters  testified  under  oath  that  "In  the  year  1648,  he 
preserved  the  library  in  St  James's  against  the  violence 
and  rapine  of  the  soldiers,  that  the  same  continued  three 
or  four  months  in  his  custody ;  that  he  did  not  take 
anything  away,  but  left  it  unviolated  as  he  found  it ;  and 
that  he  delivered  up  the  key  and  custody  of  all  to  Major 
General  Ireton." 

Ludlow,J  who  knew  Peter  personally,  speaks  of  him 
as  follows  in  his  Memoirs  (ed.  1771,  page  406)  : 

"This  person  had  been  minister  in  England  for  many 
years,  till  he  was  forced  to  leave  his  native  country  by  the 
persecution  set  on  foot  in  the  time  of  Laud,  against  all 
those  who  refused  to  comply  with  the  innovations  and 
superstitions  which  were  then  introduced  into  the  publick 
worship.  He  went  first  into  Holland,  and  from  thence  to 
New  England  ;  where  after  some  stay,  being  informed  that 
the  parliament  had  relieved  the  people  in  some  measure 
from  the  abuses  in  church  and  state,  and  designed  to 
perfect  that  work,  he  returned  to  England ;  and  in  all 
places,  and  all  occasions,  encouraged  the  people  to  appeal 
vigorously  for  them.  Having  passed  some  time  in  England 
he  was  made  chaplain  to  a  brigade  that  was  sent  against 
the  Irish  rebels  and  observing  the  condition  of  the 
plundered  protestants  in  that  country  to  deserve 
compassion,  he  went  into  Holland, and  improved  the  interest 
he  had  there  with  so  good  success,  that  he  procured  about 

*  Bibliotheca  Cornubiensis,  n,  p.  471. 

t  Philip  Nye,  an  Independent  minister  and  member  of  the  Westminster  Assem- 
bly of  Divines. 
I  One  of  the  regicides. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  51 

thirty  thousand  pounds  to  be  sent  from  thence  into  Ireland 
for  their  relief.  He  was  a  diligent  and  earnest  solicitor 
for  the  distressed  protestants  of  the  valleys  of  Piedmont, 
who  had  been  most  inhumanely  persecuted  and  reducep 
to  the  uttermost  extremities  by  the  tyranny  of  the  Duke 
of  Savoy;  and  in  gratitude  to  the  Hollanders  for  the 
sanctuary  he  had  found  among  them  in  the  time  of  his 
distress,he  was  not  a  little  serviceable  to  them  in  composing 
their  differences  with  England  }n  the  time  of  Cromwell." 

O 

"The  10th  of  October,*  Sir  John  Robinson,  Knight, 
Lieutenant  of  his  Majesty's  Tower  of  London,  according 
to  his  Warrant  receiv'd,  delivered  to  Mr  Sheriff  the 
Prisoners  hereafter  named  who  were  (in  several  coaches) 
with  a  strong  Guard  of  Horse  and  Foot  conveyed  to 
Newgate,  and  about  Nine  of  the  Clock  in  the  Morning 
delivered  to  the  Keepers  of  that  Prison,  and  thence 
brought  to  the  Sessions  House  in  the  Old  Bailey,  London, 
where  the  Commissioners  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  were  in 
Court  assembled  and  where  their  Indictment  was  publickly 
read  by  Edward  Shelton  Esq.  Clerk  of  the  Crown,  f  .  .  . 

*  This  account  of  the  trial  Is  taken  from  Corbett's  Complete  Collection  of  State 
Trials.  London,  1792. 

t  "  September  10.  At  night  comes  Mr  Mooer,  and  tells  me  how  Sir  Hardresa 
Waller  (who  only  pleads  guilty),  Scott,  Coke,  Peters,  Harrison,  &c.,  were  this  day 
arraigned  at  the  bar  of  the  Sessions  House,  there  being  upon  the  bench  the  Lord 
Mayor,  General  Monk,  my  Lord  of  Sandwich,  &c.,  sucn  a  bench  of  noblemen  as 
had  not  been  seen  in  England.  They  all  seem  to  be  dismayed,  and  will  all  be 
condemned  without  question.  .  .  .  To-morrow  they  are  to  plead  what  they  have 
to  say."  .  .  .  Pepys'  Diary,  p.  66.  London,  1825. 


52  HUGH    PETER : 

"Points  resolved  at  the  meeting  preparatory  to  the 
Trials  of  the  Murderers  of  the  late  King  : 

4  ...  it  was  agreed  that  the  actual  Murder  of  the 
King  should  be  precisely  laid  in  the  Indictment,  with  the 
special  Circumstances  as  it  was  done,  and  should  be  made 
use  of  as  one  of  the  Overt-Acts,  to  prove  the  compassing 
of  his  Death. 

6  ...  it  was  resolved  that  there  need  not  be  two 
Witnesses  to  prove  every  Overt  Act  tending  to  the 
compassing  of  the  King's  Death,  but  one  Witness  to  prove 
one  Overt-Act  tending  to  the  Compassing  of  the  King's 
Death,  and  another  Witness  to  prove  another  Act  tending 
to  the  same  end  are  sufficient."* 

The  Indictment  was  found  at  Hick's  Hall,  and  there  the 
proceedings  began  on  Tuesday,  the  9th  of  October,  1660. 

Hugh  Peter  was  No.  10  on  the  bill  of  Indictment  among 
the  thirty-two  that  were  arraigned  for  high-treason  ;  only 
ten  of  the  thirty-two  were  executed. 

Cleric:  Hugh  Peters,  Hold  up  thy  Hand.  How  sayest 
thou?  Art  thou  Guilty  of  the  Treason  whereof  thou 
standest  Indicted,  and  for  which  thou  art  now  Arraigned  ? 
or  not  Guilty? 

Hugh  Peters :  I  would  not  for  Ten  Thousand  Worlds 
say  I  am  Guilty.  1  am  not  Guilty. 

Cleric :     How  will  you  be  tried  ? 

Hugh  Peters:  By  the  Word  of  God.  (Here  the  People 
laughed.) 

Court :  You  must  say,  By  God  and  the  Country ;  Tell 
him  you  that  stand  by  him,  what  he  should  say,  if  he  doth 
not  know. 

Clerk:     How  will  you  be  tried? 

Hugh  Peters:     By  God  and  the  Country. 

Cleric :     God  send  thee  a  good  Deliverance. 

Sessions  House,  Old  Bailey,  Oct.  13,  1660. 

Clerk  of  the  Crown :  Set  Hugh  Peter  to  the  Bar  (which 
was  done  accordingly) . 

Clerk:  Hugh  Peters,  Hold  up  thy  Hand  ;  thou  standest 
Indicted,  &c.  If  you  will  challenge  any  of  the  Jury  you 

*  Any  one  might  be  proved  a  traitor  under  such  a  sweeping  decision,  which 
included  not  only  acts  but  words  as  well,  and  made  the  latter  as  weighty  as  the 
former. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  53 

must  challenge  them  when  they  come  to  the  Book,  before 
they  are  sworn. 

Lord  Chief  Baron:*  Mr.  Peters,  you  may  challenge  to 
the  number  of  thirty-five  peremptorily,  but  beyond  that 
you  cannot,  without  good  Cause  shown  ;  and  that  you  may 
have  Pen,  Ink  and  Paper. 

Peters:     My  Lord,  I  shall  challenge  none. 

/Sir  Edward  Turner,}  to  the  Jury:  you  have  often 
heard  repeated  to  you  that  the  Substantial  Part  of  the 
Charge  is  the  Compassing  and  Imagining  the  Death  of  the 
King,  and  all  the  rest  will  be  but  Evidence  to  prove 
that  Imagination  against  the  Prisoner  at  the  Bar,  whom 
we  will  prove  to  be  a  Principal  Actor  in  this  sad  Tragedy, 
and  next  to  himj  whom  God  hath  taken  away  and  reserved 
to  his  own  Judgement ;  and  we  shall  endeavor  to  prove 
that  he  was  a  Chief  Conspirator  with  Qromwell  at  several 
Times,  and  in  several  Places  :  and  that  it  was  designed  by 
them ;  We  shall  prove  that  he  was  the  Principal  Person 
to  procure  the  Soldiery  to  cry  out,  Justice,  Justice,  or 
assist  or  desire  those  for  the  taking  away  the  Life  of  the 
King.  He  did  make  use  of  his  Profession,  wherein  he 
should  have  been  the  Minister  of  Peace,  to  Make  himself  a 
Trumpeter  of  War,  of  Treason  and  Sedition,  in  the 
Kingdom  :  He  preached  many  Sermons  to  the  Soldiery 
in  direct  Terms  for  taking  away  the  King,  Comparing  the 
King  to  Barabbas:  He  was  instrumental  when  the 
Proclamation  for  the  High  Court  of  Justice  (as  they  called 
it)  was  proclaimed, directing  where  it  should  be  proclaimed 
and  in  what  place.  When  the  King  was  brought  upon  the 
Stage,  that  Mock  Work,  he  was  the  Person  that  stirred 
up  the  Soldiery  below  to  cry  for  Justice  ;  we  should  shew 
you  as  he  preached  at  several  Times  upon  several 
Occasions,  still  he  was  in  the  Pulpit  to  promote  this 
Business ;  the  next  day  after  he  was  brought  to  Trial  he 
commends  it ;  you  shall  hear  all  out  of  the  Mouth  of  the 
Prisoner ;  therefore  I  say  no  more ;  call  the  Witnesses. 

Peters:    May  it  please  your  Lordships,  I  will  give  you 

*  Sir  Orlando  Bridgeman. 

t  Attorney  to  His  Highness,  the  Duke  of  York. 

t  Cromwell. 


54  HUGH    PETER : 

an  Account  of  the  Business :  I  lived  14  years  out  of 
England,  when  I  came  over  I  found  the  Wars  begun ;  I 
began  no  War,  my  Lord,  nor  have  been  the  Trumpeter 
of  any  when  I  came  out  of  the  West  Indies,  I  fled  from 
the  War  into  Ireland,  to  the  Western  Part  there ;  and  it 
was  after  the  Rebellion,  when  some  of  the  Irish  had  been 
stirring  there,  I  went  and  spent  my  time  there.  I  was 
neither  at  Edgehill  nor  Naseby ;  but  my  Lord ;  after  I 
came  over  there  was  War  that  the  People  were  engaged 
in ;  I  was  not  here  in  the  Beginning  of  it,  but  was  a 
Stranger  to  the  Carriage  of  it. 

When  I  came  into  the  Nation  I  looked  after  Three 
Things :  One  was  that  there  might  be  Sound  Religion ; 
the  Second  was  that  Learning  and  Laws  might  be 
maintained  ;  the  Third,  that  the  Poor  might  be  cared  for ; 
and  I  must  Confess  I  have  spent  most  of  my  Time  in  these 
Things  to  this  End  and  Purpose :  There  was  a  Noise  in 
all  Parts  of  some  Miscarriages  in  Matters  of  Religion, 
after  it  was  settled  I  lived  in  Ireland,  I  must  profess  for 
my  own  part,  solemnly,  that  my  Carriage  hath  been  upon 
these  Heads,  For  Religion,  I  have,  through  God's  Mercies, 
spake  of  the  Truths  of  the  Protestant  Church,  upon  this 
Account  I  did  stay  to  see  what  God  might  do. 

I  was  sent  over  to  his  Majesty  that  we  might  have 
a  little  Help  in  point  of  Excise  and  Customs,  and 
Encouragement  in  Learning.  My  Lord,  this  is  true,  that 
I  being  here  in  the  Nation  and  being,  sent  over  upon  the 
Occasions  of  the  Country,  and  not  upon  any  Design  ;  but 
this  I  say  (I  cannot  deny  it) ,  that  after  I  came  over  and 
had  seen  the  State  of  England,  in  some  Measure  I  did  stir, 
but  by  strong  Importunities,  the  Ministers  of  London 
deeper  than  I :  I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  of  my  Carriage 
towards  the  King  ;  it  is  my  great  Trouble  ;  I  beg  pardon 
for  my  own  Folly  and  Weakness ;  I  thought  God  had  a 
great  Controversy  with  the  Nation,  and  the  Lord  was 
displeased  on  all  Hands ;  that  which  some  People  took  to 
I  did  take  unto ;  I  went  into  the  Army ;  I  saw  at  the 
Beginning  of  it  that  Corruptions  grew  among  them.  I 
suppose  none  can  say  I  have  gone  aside  from  any  Orthodox 
Truth  of  the  Lord  ;  And  now  to  take  off  the  Scandal,  upon 
me,  and  to  the  Business,  let  me  beg  of  your  Lordships  to 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  55 

consider  what  ever  Prejudice  or  Revenge  may  take  up 
Mens  Hearts,  there  is  a  God  that  knows  all ;  God  hath  a 
regard  to  the  People  of  England  ;  I  look  upon  this  Nation 
as  the  Cabinet  of  the  World,  That  that  doth  concern  the 
Business  is,  this,  my  Lord,  that  after  this  Time  hither  I 
came,  and  did  bear  Witness  to  all  the  World,  that  there 
was  amongst  us  something  that  was  for  better  and 
something  worse,  for  the  Nation  ;  I  took  Advice  of  some 
great  Persons  concerning  the  Weightiness  of  it ;  I  had 
neither  Malice  nor  Mischief  in  my  Heart  against  the  King ; 
upon  this  I  did  engage  so  far  being  Invited ;  I  went  into 
the  Wars,  and  there  I  found  very  strange  and  several 
Kinds  of  Providences,  as  this  Day  hath  been  seen  ;  I  do 
not  deny  but  that  I  was  Active,  but  not  to  stir  in  a  way 
that  was  not  Honourable.  I  challenge  a  great  Part  of  the 
Nation  to  manifest  my  Carriage  among  them  :  I  shall  make 
it  good  divers  ways  ;  I  had  so  much  Respect  to  his  Majesty, 
particularly  at  Windsor,  that  I  propounded  to  his  Majesty 
my  Thoughts  Three  ways  to  preserve  himself  from  Danger, 
which  were  good,  as  he  was  pleased  to  think,  though  they 
did  not  succeed,  and  the  Work  died ;  as  -for  Malice,  I 
had  none  in  me.  It  is  true,  there  was  a  Difference  amongst 
us,  an  Army,  and  an  Army,  I  never  had  a  Groat  or  a 
Penny  from  Oliver  Cromwell  since  I  knew  this  Place  ;  I 
profess  I  have  had  no  Ends  for  Honour  or  Gain  since  I 
set  Foot  upon  this  Shore ;  I  challenge  any  Man  that 
belonged  to  that  Party  whether  they  had  not  the  same 
Respect  from  me  as  my  own  Party  ;  I  have  not  persecuted 
any  with  Malice  :  I  will  only  take  off  Malice. 

Lord  Chief  Baron:  Your  Business  is  Matter  of  Fact. 

Peters:  I  am  unskilful  in  Law,  this  that  I  offer  is  to 
shew  that  I  had  no  Malice  in  me ;  I  was  so  far  from  Malice, 
that  I  have  a  Certificate,  if  worth  the  reading,  from  one  of 
the  Emminentest  Persons  in  the  Nation,  to  shew  I  had  no 
Malice  :  It  is  concerning  the  Marquis  of  Worcester,  under 
his  Lady's  Hand,  beginning  with  these  Words, "  I  do  here 
testifie  that  in  all  the  Sufferings  of  my  Husband,  Mr  Peters 
was  my  great  Friend,  &c."  I  have  here  a  Seal  (and  then 
produced  it)  that  the  Earl  of  Norwich  gave  me  to  keep  for 
his  Sake  for  saving  his  Life,  which  I  will  keep  as  long  as 
I  live. 


56  HUGH  PETER: 

Lord  Chief  Baron :  I  am  not  willing  at  all  to  interrupt 
you,  or  hinder  you ;  that  which  you  speak  of  doing  good 
Services,  is  not  at  all  to  the  Point ;  we  do  not  question 
you  for  what  good  you  have  done  but  for  the  Evil  you 
have  done ;  I  hope  there  is  no  Malice  in  your  Heart,  nor 
upon  the  Court  or  Jury,  we  and  they  are  upon  our  Oaths, 
and  you  hear  the  Matter  alleged  against  you  ;  pray  come 
to  the  Matter. 

Peters:  My  Lord,  I  cannot  remember  them. 

Lord  Chief  Baron  :  Then  I  will  remember  you  :  You 
are  charged  by  this  Indictment  for  Compassing  and 
Imagining  the  Death  of  the  King,  and  there  is  set  forth 
sundry  Particulars  to  prove  the  Overt  Act,  that  you  with 
other  Persons  named  in  that  Indictment,  did  consult  and 
meet  together,  how  to  bring  about  the  King's  Death.  Then 
you  are  charged  with  several  Acts  of  Contriving  and 
Endeavouring  the  King's  death.  Overt  Acts  that  tend 
to  the  Compassing  and  Imagining  the  King's  death,  or  any 
one  of  these,  to  encourage  the  bringing  on  the  King  to  his 
Death,  the  consulting  or  meeting  together  about  it,  though 
you  did  not  sit  or  sentence ;  yet  if  you  did  any  Thing 
tending  to  that  Encouragement,  or  otherwise  Abet  it, 
Comfort  or  anywise  Aid  those  Traitorous  Persons  that  did 
it,  in  the  doing  of  it  you  are  by  Law  Guilty  of  the  whole 
Fact :  The  proposing  and  determining,  the  King  shall 
die,  though  you  were  not  he  that  actually  put  him  to  Death, 
yet  notwithstanding,  if  you  did  the  other,  you  are  Guilty 
of  all,  if  you  shall  speak  any  Seditious  Speeches,  be  they 
in  the  Pulpit,  or  out  of  the  Pulpit,  if  you  shall  utter  any 
Thing  that  tends  to  Sedition,  these  are  open  Acts,  which 
prove  the  Imagination  of  the  Heart ;  though  Imagination 
of  the  Heart  be  Treason  yet  it  cannot  be  proved  but  by 
open  Acts,  yet  the  Imagination  itself  is  Treason. 

First  you  did  conspire,  all  the  Witnesses  go  along  to 
prove  this.  Dr.  Young  saith,  you  came  over  from  Ireland 
to  his  House,  and  after  Five  Days  that  you  were  recovered 
of  the  Flux  you  staid  there  Ten  Weeks  ;  you  said  yourself 
there  was  enough,  if  it  were  true,  to  condemn  you  or  any 
Man  :  I  shall  repeat  it  to  you  ;  you  told  him  a  Narrative, 
that  you  came  from  New  England,  from  thence  to  Ireland 
and  then  you  came  to  Holland,  with  an  Intent  to  see  how 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  57 

you  might  bring  on  the  Kingdom  to  be  a  Commonwealth. 
Next  he  saith,  you  spake  very  often  against  the  King  by 
way  of  Disgrace,  against  him  and  his  Family,  against  the 
King  and  his  Offspring,  this  you  said  very  often :  Then 
you  spake  in  Vilification  of  Monarchal  Government,  that 
this  Commonwealth,  would  never  be  at  peace  till  150,  or 
Three  L's,  Lords,  Levites  and  Lawyers  were  taken  away, 
at  which  he  replied,  then  they  must  be  all  Switzers, 
Tinkers  or  Traitors  :  He  swears  you  were  a  Colonel,  and 
had  a  Commission ;  that  you  would  have  had  him  accept 
of  a  Commission ;  and  that  you  had  two  Companies  come 
from  the  West :  you  told  him  the  Parliament  had  an  Intent 
to  secure  Cromwell  and  yourself,  but  that  you  rid  hard  for 
it;  and  then  you  confessed  you  agreed  then  upon  his 
Death,  to  bring  him  to  Trial,  and  to  cut  off  his  Head ;  you 
did  agree  together,  and  he  believes  it  was  your  Advice  to 
Cromwell ;  your  Answer  was  this,  that  he  was  more 
violent  than  yourself ;  that  he  took  upon  him  to  be  a  Spy  ; 
and  that  he  was  no  competent  Witness,  because  he  was 
under  a  Temptation,  because  you  did  not  help  him  to  his 
Living,  and  so  conceived  it  to  be  Malice ;  you  say  he  was 
used  to  take  up  such  Courses  in  his  own  Country ;  the 
Matter  is  not  whether  you  had  Malice  to  the  King's  Life 
or  Monarchy.  For  the  next,  One  Gunter,  he  swears,  that 
he  was  a  Servant  to  Mr.  Hildesley,  at  the  Star  in  Coleman 
Street,  and  this  was  in  1648,  he  saith  that  many  of  the 
Party  of  Cromwell  did  use  to  resort  thither,  amongst  the 
rest  he  saw  you,  he  said  he  came  into  them,  and  their 
Discourse  was  about  Charles  Stuart,  and  the  Prisoner — 
and  did  guess  it  was  about  the  King ;  that  you  were  privy 
to  it  then ;  he  saith  this  was  Three  Days  before  Oliver 
Cromwell  went  out  of  Town  ;  the  Effect  of  that  is  urged 
no  further  than  this,  that  you  were  so  far  of  the  Cabal, 
that  you  were  present  with  those  Persons,  Cromwell, 
Ireton,  Rich,  and  others  ;  you  said,  I  was  there  once  with 
Mr.  Nathaniel  Fines.  Starkey,  he  saith,  that  at  his  Fathers 
House  Ireton  lay,  and  was  quartered  there  at  Windsor, 
before  and  when  the  King  was  Prisoner ;  that  you  had 
your  Quarters  there,  and  Cromwell,  too,  in  that  Town: 
The  General  Meeting  of  the  Council  of  War  was  at  his 
Fathers  House  ;  that  Ireton  and  his  wife  lying  there,  you 


58  HUGH    PETEK  : 

came  and  resorted  thither  very  often  ;  he  saith  then  that 
it  appeared  that  after  the  Council  of  War  had  done,  many 
times  Rich  and  you,  and  Cromwell,  and  Ireton,  were  there 
together,  sometimes  till  Two  O'Clock  in  the  Morning ;  he 
saith  then,  that  he  did  observe  there  was  a  Fifth  Person 
(he  did  not  remember  his  name)  and  you  sat  up  usually 
till  Two  or  Three  in  the  Morning ;  You  had  Guards  about 
you ;  he  saith  further,  that  Ireton  being  a  Domestick,  he 
often  discoursed  with  him,  and  you  came  sometimes  to  be 
there  too ;  that  there  being  some  Discourse  concerning 
the  King,  many  Times  he  did  assert  the  Law  concerning 
him,  that  he  was  Solutus  legibus,  as  to  his  Person ;  that 
you  should  say,  that  it  was  an  unequal,  Law,  and  that  you 
did  then  discourse  fully  against  the  King's  Government ; 
you  said  he  was  a  Tyrant,  not  fit  for  that  Office  ;  that  the 
Office  was  useless,  chargeable  and  dangerous  ;  these  very 
Words  he  observed,  which  afterwards  were  Printed  when 
they  took  away  Monarchy.  He  saith  further,  that  was 
their  full  and  whole  Discourse ;  he  saith  that  his  Father 
at  Supper  used  to  say  that  usual  Grace,  "  God  save  the 
King,  Prince,  and  Realm ;"  but  afterwards  that  he  heard 
the  King  was  made  a  Prisoner,  that  his  Father  altering  the 
Grace,  he  said,  "God  save  his  most  excellent  Majesty,  and 
deliver  him  out  of  all  his  Enemies  hands  ;"  you  rose  up, 
and  said  "Old  Gentleman,  your  Idol  will  not  stand  long ;" 
that  he  did  observe  you  often  with  them ;  he  saith  further, 
when  Bacon  was  coming  out,  and  speaking  some  Words 
concerning  your  frequent  Affronting  the  King,  you  took 
up  a  Staff  and  were  ready  to  beat  him,  and  made  an 
Uproar :  It  appears  also  of  your  being  privy  to  Cromwell's 
Actions.  The  next  Witness  is  Walkely  and  he  swears  this 
against  you,  that  he  was  in  the  Painted  Chamber  the  next 
Day  after  the  Proclamation  was  made ;  and  there  he  saw 
John  Goodwin  and  you :  and  there  was  an  Assembly,  and 
at  the  middle  of  the  table  John  Goodwin  was,  and  made 
a  long  Speech  or  Prayer ;  that  Cromwell  would  have  had 
the  People  stay  there,  but  it  was  ordered  that  they  should 
be  turned  out ;  at  the  End  he  saw  you  come  out  with  the 
rest ;  there  it  appeared  you  were  in  the  Consultation  ;  he 
saith  he  met  the  Army  at  St.  James's,  and  then,  when  they 
were  half  past,  he  saw  the  King  in  his  Coach,  and  there 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  59 

he  saw  Mr.  Peters  like  Bishop  Almoner  riding  immediately 
before  the  King ;  and  at  St.  James's  Park  he  saw  you 
Marshalling  the  Soldiers,  that  he  was  forced  thereupon  to 
go  about ;  he  saith  further,  that  within  a  Year  or  Two 
aftei  the  Army  was  raised  he  heard  you  say  these  Words, 
If  we  can  keep  up  our  Army  Seven  Years  longer  we  need 
not  care  for  the  King  and  all  his  Posterity. 

Peters:  My  Lord  I  must  deny  abundance  of  this  ;  the 
King  commanded  me  to  ride  before  him,  that  the  Bishop 
of  London  might  come  to  him. 

Lord  Chief  Baron :  But  this  was  Three  Weeks  after 
.  .  .  The  next  Witness  against  you  is  one  Proctor :  he 
saith,  that  Day  (as  the  other  Witness  did)  he  saw  you 
riding  just  before  the  King's  Coach  and  because  he  did  his 
Duty  the  Soldiers  threw  him,  Horse  and  all,  into  a  Ditch. 
The  next  Witness  is  one  Hard  wick,  he  saith  that  when 
the  Proclamation  was  read  he  saw  you  in  Westminster 
Hall,  and  that  you  said,  they  had  done  as  good  as  nothing, 
unless  it  was  proclaimed  in  Cheapside  and  at  the  Old 
Exchange ;  this  you  said  to  some  of  the  Officers  there. 

Peters:     My  Lord,  I  cannot  acknowledge  it. 

Lord  Chief  Baron :  The  next  Witness  against  you  is 
Simpson,  he  swears  he  saw  you  in  Consultation  with 
Oliver  Cromwell,  and  take  Sir  William  Brereton  by  the 
Hand,  and  come  to  Bradshawe's  and  this  during  the  time 
of  the  King's  Trial ;  he  further  saith,  that  one  Day  when 
the  King  was  at  his  Trial  you  commanded  Colonel 
Stubbers  to  bid  his  Soldiers  cry  out  Justice,  Justice, 
which  they  cried,  and  afterwards  some  of  the  Soldiers  spit 
upon  the  King. 

Peters :  I  do  believe  that  he,  that  swore  that,  cannot 
say  I  was  there. 

Lord  Chief  Baron  :  AnotherWitness  is  one  Richardson, 
who  saw  you  the  First  Day  in  the  Court ;  and  he  said 
further,  that  you  commended  Bradshaw  and  another,  to 
wit  Cook,  for  their  Carriage  in  the  Trial  of  the  King ; 
that  you  held  up  your  Hands  and  said  This  is  a  most 
Glorious  Beginning  of  the  Work. 

Peters :     Whereabouts  in  the  Court  ? 

Richardson :  In  the  Body  of  the  Court,  called  then  the 
High  Court  of  Justice. 


60  HUGH    PETER : 

Peters ;  My  Lord,  I  do  not  know  that  ever  I  was  in  the 
body  of  the  Court. 

Lord  Chief  Baron  :  The  next  Witness  is  Sir  Jeremy 
Whichcot,  he  saith,  he  heard  you  often  Speak  scurrilously 
of  the  King;  and  making  a  Narrative  of  Cromwells 
Escape,  you  said  there  was  a  Meeting,  and  there  we 
resolved  to  set  aside  the  King ;  remember  what  the  other 
Witness  said,  we  agreed  and  here  we  resolved  ;  you  said,  I 
cannot  but  reverence  the  High  Court  of  Justice,  it  doth 
resemble  the  Judging  of  the  World  at  the  Last  Day  by  the 
Saints :  so  it  was  the  Saints  that  sat  there  ;  I  would  have 
preached  before  the  Wretch,  but  the  poor  Wretch  would 
not  hear  me :  you  often  called  him  Tyrant :  I  cannot 
possibly  remember  the  Place,  Things,  or  Words,  that  are 
alledged.  Then  you  have  another  Witness  Nunnelly,  he 
saith  he  came  with  a  Warrant  to  Oliver  Cromwell  for 
some  Money,  and  that  he  should  say,  go  and  see  the 
Beheading  of  the  King  at  Whitehall,  he  saith  there  he  met 
with  you  (though  you  said  you  were  not  there  that  day) 
going  to  the  Banquetting  House  ;  that  you  spoke  to  Tench, 
and  whispered  in  his  Ear,  and  that  Tench  went  and 
knocked  Staples  on  the  Scaffold  ;  he  meeting  Tench  said, 
What,  are  you  a  Hangman  ?  Saith  Tench,  this  day  will  be 
a  happy  Day ;  he  saith  after  all  this  Hugh  Peters  was 
upon  the  Scaffold,  and  that  he  went  out  with  the  Hangman. 

Peters:  I  do  profess  to  your  Lordships  before  Angels 
and  Men  that  I  did  not  stir  out  of  my  Chamber  that  day. 

Lord  Chief  Baron:  The  Counsel  doth  not  put  Reliance 
upon  that,  because  of  what  your  Witness  saith,  though 
his  Evidence  is  not  satisfactory.  The  next  is  Clough, 
and  he  swears  this,  that  he  saw  you  in  the  Painted 
Chamber  with  the  Council  of  Officers,  and  there  you 
desired  them  to  call  on  God  for  a  Blessing  upon  their 
Business,  and  there  you  said,  "  O  Lord  what  a  Mercy  it  is 
to  see  this  great  City  fall  down  before  us  !  And  what  a 
Stir  is  there  to  bring  this  Great  Man  to  Trial,  without 
whose  Blood  he  will  turn  us  all  into  Blood,  if  he  reign 
again.  And  this  was  about  a  Month  before  the  King  was 
Murthered,  you  hear  it,  Mr.  Peters. 

Peters:  Some  Part  I  did,  but  it  is  impossible  for  me  to 
bear  down  many  Witnesses ;  indeed,  my  Lord,  I  say  this, 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  61 

they  are  marvellous  Uncharitable,  and  speak  many  false 
Things. 

Lord  Chief  Baron :  The  next  is  this,  the  Testimony 
concerning  several  Sermons  of  yours,  and  let  me  tell 
you  the  Pulpit  ought  not  to  be  a  place  where  Men  with 
Impunity  may  speak  any  Thing,  what  they  list,  of  Sedition 
and  Treason. 

Peters :  I  am  of  the  same  Judgment  myself,  my  Lord. 

Lord  Chief  Baron :  And  there  was  a  Solemn  Day  to 
seek  God,  then  you  preached  at  St.  Margarets'  Church  ; 
this  was  Mr.  Bever  ;  in  he  came,  and  heard  you  talk  much 
of  Barabbas  and  our  Saviour;  there  you  fell  upon  this 
speaking  of  the  King,  It  is  a  sad  thing  that  it  should  now 
be  a  Question,  whether  we  should  crucify  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  or  that  great  Barabbas,  speaking  of  the  King ; 
you  called  him  Traitor,  Tyrant,  Murtherer,  of  his  Subjects, 
and  the  like,  you  went  on  in,  a  Way  of  a  Story,  These 
Citizens,  for  a  little  Trading  they  will  have  Christ  crucified 
and  the  great  Barabbas  at  Windsor  released  !  and  said 
you,  to  the  Clergy,  the  Assembly,  they  are  all  for 
crucifying  Christ,  and  releasing  Barabbas  ;  you  made  that 
Expression,  "O  Jesus,  what  shall  we  do?"  The  King 
was  a  Prisoner  then  at  Windsor,  you  made  your  Applica- 
tion to  the  Parliament  that  was  then  present,  you  told  them 
the  people  did  expect  Justice  from  them ;  you  must  not 
prefer  the  great  Tyrant  and  Traitor,  naming  the  King,  to 
these  poor  hearts,  (the  Red  coats  standing  by). 

Peters :  I  must  profess  against  most  of  that. 

Lord  Chief  Baron :  There  is  the  same  by  others.  It 
is  further  proved  by  the  Order,  that  you  were  appointed 
to  preach. 

Peters :  I  do  not  deny  I  preached,  but  not  these  Things. 

Lord  Chief  Baron:  The  next  Thing  is  this,  there  was 
one  Mr.  Chace,  this  was  during  the  Trial,  he  saith  you 
preached  at  Whitehall  upon  this  text,  Psalm  CXLIX. 
"To  bind  their  Kings  in  Chains,  and  their  Nobles  in 
Fetters  of  Iron,"  You  had  two  or  Three  other  Verses 
more ;  then  you  made  a  Discourse  of  a  Mayor  and  a 
Bishop's  Man,  the  Bishop's  Man  being  drunk,  the  Mayor 
committed  him  to  Prison  ;  the  Bishop  being  angry,  asked 
by  what  Authority?  The  Mayor  said,  there  was  an  Act 


6  2  HUGH    PETER : 

of  Parliament  for  it ;  he  did  not  find  that  either  the  Bishop 
or  his  Man  was  excepted  ;  you  applied  that  to  the  King ; 
said  you,  I  will  shew  you  an  Act  of  the  Bible,  Whosoever 
sheds  Man's  Blood,  by  Men  shall  his  Blood  be  shed  ;  this 
doth  not  except  the  King,  Prince,  Prince  Rupert,  Prince 
Maurice,  or  any  of  that  Rabble." 

Peters  :  It  is  false. 

Lord  Chief  Baron :  You  said  further,  this  is  the  Day 
that  I  and  many  other  Saints  of  God  have  prayed  for  these 
many  Years  ;"  and  Oliver  Cromwell  laughed  at  that  Time. 
The  next  Witness  was  Tongue,  he  heard  you  preach,  and 
he  swears  the  same  with  the  former ;  that  you  applauded 
the  Soldiers,  and  that  you  hoped  to  see  such  another  Day 
following  as  the  Day  before  ;  and  that  Blessed  be  God  the 
House  is  purged,  and  the  Lords  will  shortly  be  pulled  out ; 
and  the  Twenty  Eighth  Day  of  January,  which  was  the 
Day  after  the  King  was  Sentenced,  at  St.  James's  his 
Chapel,  you  took  for  your  Text  the  CXLIX  Psalm,  6,7, 
8  and  9  Verses,  whereof  these  Words  were  part,"  To  bind 
their  Kings  in  Chains,  and  their  Nobles  with  Fetters  of 
Iron ;"  there  in  the  middle  of  that  Sermon,  having  spoken 
before  of  the  King,  you  said  you  did  intend  to  preach 
before  the  poor  Wretch  upon  the  14th  of  Isaiah,  18,  19  and 
20  Verses,  speaking  of  all  the  Kings  of  the  Nations,  Thou 
art  cast  out  of  thy  Grave  like  an  abominable  Branch,  &c., 
he  saith  further,  you  said,  look  upon  your  lesser  Bibles 
and  you  will  find  the  Title  is,  "The  Tyrants  Fall."  There 
is  another  Witness  that  is  one  Bowdler,  a  few  Days  before 
the  King's  Death,  at  St.  Sepulcher's,  there  you  fell  upon 
the  old  Comparison,  all  along  you  compared  the  King  to 
Barabbas ;  and  that  a  great  many  would  have  Christ 
crucified,  and  Barabbas  released ;  all  along  comparing  the 
King  to  Barabbas.  One  more,  and  that  was  Ryder,  he 
heard  this  Text,  "  He  shall  call  his  name  Emanuel ;"  you 
fell  to  speak  of  News ;  what  shall  become  of  the  King  ? 
And  you  said  "  the  King  was  Barabbas,  and  a  great  many 
would  rather  have  Christ  crucified  than  Barabbas."  And 
then  Mr.  Walker  he  saith,  that  after  the  King  was  first 
brought  to  his  Trial  he  heard  you  say  this,  I  have  prayed 
and  preached  this  Twenty  Years  and  now  may  I  say  with 
old  Simeon,  "  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  Servant  depart 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  63 

in  Peace,  for  mine  Eyes  have  seen  thy  Salvation ;"  He 
mentions  that  you  made  Use  of  the  other  Comparison  of 
the  Mayor  and  the  Bishop's  Man,  and  inferred  from  thence 
that  the  King  and  Prince,  &c.,  were  not  excepted  out  of 
the  Scripture,  where  it  is  said  "  Whosoever  sheds  Man's 
Blood,  &c.  You  have  heard  all  this  witnessed  against 
you,  what  have  you  to  say  for  yourself? 

Peters :     These  are  but  single  Witnesses. 

Lord  Chief  Baron :  The  Statute  is  Two  Witnesses  for 
Treason,  but  not  Two  to  One  individual  Thing  though 
there  are  several  Witnesses  have  proved  the  same  Thing 
about  Barabbas,  and  our  Saviour,  "  bind  their  Kings  with 
Chains,"  &c.,  and  of  your  other  Actions  there  is  a  whole 
jury  of  Witnesses.  Two  Witnesses  expressly,  we  agreed 
upon  the  King's  Death,  and  we  resolved  to  set  the  King 
aside. 

Peters :     I  do  not  know  the  Witnesses. 

Lord  Chief  Baron:  One  is  Sir  Jeremy  Whichcot,  the 
other  is  Dr.  Young  ;*  you  shall  do  well  if  you  have  any 
Thing  to  invalidate  these  Witnesses  to  speak  it,  else  the 
Jury  will  be  sent  together  to  deliver  up  their  Verdict. 

Peters:  Mr  Lord,  if  I  had  Time  and  Opportunity,  I 
could  take  off  many  of  the  Witnesses,  but  because  their 
Testimony  is  without  Controle  I  cannot  satisfie  myself;  I 
have  no  skill  in  the  Law,  else  I  might  have  spoke  for 
myself;  I  do  not  know  what  to  say  more,  unless  I  had 
more  Time  and  Counsel. 

The  Solicitor  General:^  If  the  Prisoner  can  say  no 
more,  here  is  this  in  it ;  here  are  Five  Places  where  he  did 
consult  about  the  King's  Death,  at  Windsor,  at  Ware  in 
Coleman  Street,  in  the  Painted  Chamber,  and  in  Bradshaw's 
House  ;  and  Four  Witnesses  to  prove  this  ;  there  are  Two 
Witnesses  to  his  Comparison  of  the  King  and  Barabbas, 
and  Two  Witnesses  to  his  Text  of  binding  their  Kings  in 
Chains,  &c.  Proof  that  he  hath  been  in  Action  in  New 
England ;  that  he  came  from  it  with  that  Intent,  and  then 
went  to  Holland  ;  that  he  had  been  in  Arms  ;  that  he  called 
the  Day  of  his  Majesty's  Trial  a  Glorious  Day,  resembling 

*  Dr.  Youiig,  who  testified  against  him,  was  one  of  the  jury  that  condemned 
him. 
t  Sir  Heneage  Finch. 


64  HUGH  PETER: 

the  Judging  of  the  World  by  the  Saints  ;  he  prays  for  this 
in  the  Painted  Chamber,  preaches  for  it  at  Whitehall,  St. 
James's  chapel  St.  Sepulchre's ;  what  Man  could  more 
contrive  the  Death  of  the  King  than  this  miserable  Priest 
hath  done  ?  The  Honour  of  the  Pulpit  is  to  be  vindicated  ; 
and  the  Death  of  this  Man  will  preach  better  than  his  Life 
did ;  it  may  be  a  Means  to  convert  many  a  miserable 
Person,  whom  the  Preaching  of  this  Person  hath  seduced  ; 
for  many  come  here  and  say  they  did  it,  "in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord ;"  and  now  you  see  who  taught  them ;  and  I  hope 
you  will  make  an  Example  of  this  Carnal  Prophet. 

The  Jury  went  together,  and  after  a  little  Consultation 
settled  in  their  Places. 

Clerk :     Are  you  agreed  in  your  Verdict  ? 

Jury:     Yes. 

Cleric :     Who  shall  say  for  you  ? 

Jury:     Our  Foreman. 

Clerk:  How  say  you?  Is  the  Prisoner  at  the  Bar 
Guilty  of  the  Treason  whereof  he  stands  Indicted?  Or 
not  Guilty? 

Foreman :     Guilty. 

Clerk :     And  so  you  say  all  ? 

Jury:     Yes. 

Clerk :     Look  to  him  Keeper. 

Council:  We  desire  Mr.  Cook  may  be  brought  to  the 
Bar,  and  that  they  may  both  have  their  Judgement 
pronounced.  .  .  . 

Clerk:  Hugh  Peters,  Hold  up  thy  Hand;  what  hast 
thou  to  say  for  thyself  why  Judgement  should  not  pass 
against  thee  to  Die  according  to  Law? 

Peters:  I  will  submit  myself  to  God,  and  if  I  have 
spoken  anything  against  the  Gospel  of  Christ  I  am  heartily 
sorry. 

Silence  Commanded. 

Lord  Chief  Baron:  You  are  both  Persons  of  that 
Ingenuous  and  Liberal  Education  as  I  hope,  I  shall  not 
need  to  tell  you  what  it  is  to  Die,  you  have  had  a  great 
deal  of  Time  to  think  of  it ;  you  could  not  but  think  of  that 
Issue  of  your  Doings  long  ago,  and  therefore  I  shall  spare 
my  Labour  of  telling  you  what  it  is  to  Die  and  of  that 
Eternity  that  you  are  to  enter  into ;  only  give  me  leave  in 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  65 

a  few  Words,  in  relation  to  both  your  Professions,  to  say 
something  to  shew  the  Nature  and  Heinousuess  of  this 
Offence,  the  Murther  of  the  King.  If  you  were  not 
actually  guilty  of  putting  the  King  to  Death,  nay, admitting 
(in  Charity)  you  had  no  intent  to  go  as  far  as  you  did,  you 
are  by  the  Laws  of  Christ  and  this  Nation,  guilty  of  High 
Treason, in  that  you  that  are  a  Lawyer  know  very  well(and 
I  speak  it  that  you  may  lay  it  to  your  Hart  in  the 
Convictions  of  your  Conscience,  I  must  say  to  you  as 
Joshua  said  to  Acban,  "my  Sou,  give  Glory  to  God,  and 
confess ;"  and  it  would  become  you  so  to  do)  you  know 
very  well  it  is  the  law  of  this  Nation,  that  no  one  House, 
nor  both  Houses  of  Parliament  have  any  coercive  Power 
over  the  King,  much  less  to  put  him  to  Death  ;  you  know 
(as  you  cited  very  well)  that  the  imprisoning  of  the  King 
is  Treason.  You  know  both  of  }7ou,  this  is  an  undoubted 
Truth ;  the  rule  of  the  Law  is,  that  the  King,  that  is  the 
King  can  do  no  Wrong ;  in  the  estimation  of  Law ;  he 
may  do  some  particular  Acts  as  a  private  Person,  but  he 
can  do  little  Prejudice  in  his  own  Person ;  if  he  would 
hurt  any  it  must  be  by  Ministers,  in  that  case  the  Law 
provides  a  Remedy ;  if  he  doth  it  by  Ministers  they  must 
answer  for  it.  The  King  of  England  is  one  of  those 
Princes  who  hath  an  Imperial  Crown  ;  what  is  that  ?  It 
is  not  to  do  what  he  will ;  no,  but  it  is  that  he  shall  not 
be  punished  in  his  own  Person  if  he  doth  that  which  in 
itself  is  unlawful.  Now  remember  this  when  you  took 
the  Oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy ;  (I  presume  you 
both  did  so)  What  was  your  Oath  of  Supremacy?  It 
was  this,  that  the  King  was  the  only  Supreme  Government 
of  these  Realms ;  it  goes  further,  as  he  was  the 
Supreme  Governor,  so  he  was  the  only  Supreme  Governor, 
that  excludes  Co-ordination  ;  you  swear  further,  that  you 
will  to  the  utmost  of  your  Power  defend  the  King  against 
all  Conspiracies  and  Attempts  whatsoever ;  truly  you  that 
were  a  Lawyer  when  you  had  thus  sworn,  your  Fee  could 
be  no  Excuse  against  what  you  had  sworn  to.  We  know 
that  the  King,  in  his  Politicks  or  Natural  Capacity,  is  not 
only  Salus  Populi,  but  Salus  Reipublicse.  The  Law  hath 
taken  care  that  the  People  shall  have  Justice  and  Right ; 
the  King's  Person  ought  not  to  be  touched ;  the  King 


66  HUGH   PETER  : 

himself  is  pleased  to  judge  by  the  Law ;  you  see  he  doth 
by  Law  question  the  Death  of  his  Father ;  he  doth  not 
judge  it  himself,  but  the  Law  judges  it.  Mr.  Peters 
knows  very  well  he  subscribed  the  39  Articles  of  Religion  ; 
look  upon  them  that  were  confirmed  in  1552,  and  upon 
those  Articles  that  were  confirmed  in  13  Elizabeth ;  the 
King  is  there  acknowledged  to  have  the  Chief  Power  in 
these  Nations ;  the  meddling  with  the  King  was  a 
Jesuitical  Doctrine :  This  I  speak,  not  that  the  King 
should  or  ought  to  Govern  but  by  the  Fundamental  Laws 
of  the  Land ;  they  that  keep  within  the  Bounds  of  the 
Law  are  happy ;  you  that  are  a  Lawyer  know  this  in 
point  of  Law,  and  you  that  are  a  Divine  know  this  in  point 
of  Divinity.  You  both  know  the  Truth  of  it,  and  when 
you  have  thought  upon  it,  I  hope  you  will  reflect  upon 
that  horrid  Crime,  the  shedding  of  Royal  Blood.  You  see 
he  had  granted  all  those  Grievances  of  the  People,  taken 
them  away,  secured  them,  for  the  future  ;  and  at  this  very 
Time,  when  this  horrid  Act  was  done  you  see  he  had 
granted  all  at  the  Desire  of  the  People ;  he  had  made 
those  Concessions  such,  as  (were  it  not  in  respect  of 
others  more  than  those  that  treated  themselves)  they 
thought  was  more  than  could  be  expected  by  the  Nation. 
You  that  had  a  Hand  in  the  King's  Death  it  falls  upon 
you,  the  Guilt  of  it,  because  you  were  some  of  those 
Instruments  that  assisted  those  Persons  that  broke  the 
Treaty  ;  prepare  yourselves  for  that  Death  which  you  are 
to  die ;  it  is  a  Debt  which  we  all  owe  to  Nature ;  if  in 
this  case  there  is  something  of  Shame  comes  to  you  it  is 
that  you  must  take  as  Part  of  the  Reward  of  your  Sin. 
The  only  Work,  I  have  now  to  do  is  to  pronounce  the 
Judgment,  and  this  is  the  Judgement  of  the  Court,  and 
the  Court  doth  award,  that  both  of  you  be  led  back  to  the 
Place  from  whence  you  came,  and  from  thence  shall  be 
drawn  upon  a  Hurdle,  &c.  and  the  Lord  have  Mercy  upon 
your  Souls. 

Clerk:  Crier,  make  Proclamation. 

Clerk:  O  Yes,&c.  All  Manner  of  Persons,  &c.and  all 
Jurors  and  Witnesses,  are  to  appear  at  this  Place 
toMorrow  Morning  at  Seven  of  the  clock  in  the  morning 
upon  Pain  of  One  hundred  Pounds  a  piece.  So  God  Bless 
king  Charles,  &c. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  67 

None  of  the  accused  were  allowed  counsel  although  they 
repeatedly  asked  for  the  same. 

Ere  his  death  let  us  hear  his  vindication  in  his  own 
words. 

"The  Case  of  Mr  Hugh  Peters  Impartially 
Communicated  to  the  View  and  Censure  of  the  Whole 
World :  Written  by  his  own  hand.  London ;  Printed 
for  Sam.  Speed,  and  are  to  be  sold  at  his  shop,  at  the 
sigue  of  the  Printing-Press  in  St.  Pauls  Churchyard. 

"They  which  think  to  Vindicate  themselves  to  the 
World  by  writing  Apologies,  rarely  reach  their  ends, 
because  their  Game  is  an  After-Game  ;  prejudice  is  strong, 
and  the  Plaister  can  hardly  be  made  broad  enough,  nor 
Apologies  put  into  all  hands  who  have  prejudged  and 
received  the  first  tincture.  And  therefore  our  blessed 
Saviour  is  slow  in  that  work ;  onely  clears  the  great 
question  of  that  age,  by  proving  himself  the  Messiah 
(Job,  5.)  by  four  witnesses,  but  not  forward  to  answer 
expectations  of  the  World  otherwise. 

"  And  yet  so  much  of  his  example  there  is ;  yea,  so 
much  of  St.  Pauls,  and  others,  that  there  seems  to  be  a 
necessity  of  saying  something,  though  hard  to  wipe  off  so 
much  dirt  as  is  thrown  on  my  self.  Yet  at  this  distance 
and  leasure,  hearing  by  printed  papers  what  my  lot  is  in 
England,  my  native  Country  ;  Therefore  I  do  in  the  Name 
and  fear  of  God,  and  before  his  holy  Majesty,  Angels  and 
Men,  profess  that  I  never  had  head  nor  hand  in  contriving 
or  managing  the  late  Kings  death,  as  is  basely  and 
scandalously  suggested  by  black  mouths  :  was  all  that  day 
(he  dyed)  sick  and  sad  in  my  Chamber,  which  I  prove 
by  two  substantial  witnesses.  And  for  what  is  in  that 
Pamphlet  June  19,  about  my  confessing  in  my  sickness, 
landing  at  Plymouth  from  Ireland,  it  is  most  untrue  and 
mistaken,  for  I  never  was  sick  at  Plymouth,  nor  landed 
there  from  Ireland :  nor  any  of  that  information 
colourable  :  &  this  I  avouch  in  the  truth  of  my  soul ;  and 
would  in  presence  justifie,  if  weakness,  and  lameness,  and 
this  distance  did  not  hinder;  yea,  many  years  being  upon 
me,  and  an  utter  inability  to  do  my  self  right  in  these 
things,  if  the  Lord  do  not  make  my  way  in  the  hearts  of 
men. 

HIST.  COLL.   VOL.  XXXVm  8 


68  HUGH   PETER : 

"I  shall  briefly  give  an  account  of  my  coming  into 
England,  my  behaviour  since  I  came,  and  my  present 
condition  in  this  Juncture. 

"  A  Colony  going  to  settle  in  New  England,  by  his  late 
Majesties  Patent,  I  went  thither,  who  by  my  birth  in 
Cornwel,  was  not  a  meer  stranger  to  that  place,  and 
fishing-trade  :  and  thither,  invited  often,  I  say,  went,  and 
was  with  another  sent  into  England  by  the  Magistrates 
there,  for  ease  in  Excise  and  Custom,  and  some  supplies 
for  Learning,  &c,  because  I  had  been  witness  to  the 
Indians  receiving  the  Gospel  there  in  Faith  and  Practise ; 
they  having  the  Bible  translated  by  us  into  their  Language, 
and  part  thereof  printed,  and  hundreds  of  them  professing 
the  Gospel,  and  teaching  each  other  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  God ;  and  the  rather,  from  the  example  of  the 
English  there :  when  in  seven  years  among  thousands 
there  dwelling,  I  never  saw  any  drunk,  nor  heard  an  Oath, 
nor  any  begging,  nor  Sabbath  broken  :  all  which  invited 
me  over  to  England :  but  coming,  found  the  Nation 
imbroyled  in  troubles  and  War ;  the  Preaching  was,  Curse 
ye  Meroz,  from  Scotland  to  England  ;  the  best  Ministers 
going  into  the  field :  in  which  (not  without  urging)  I  was 
imbarqued  in  time ;  and  by  force  upon  me  here,  failed 
of  my  promise  of  returning  home  :  which  was  and  is  my 
sad  affliction.  My  first  work  was,  with  the  first  to  go  to 
Ireland ;  which  I  did  with  many  hazards,  then  was  at  sea 
with  my  old  Patron  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  to  whom  I  ow'd 
my  life ;  then  was  imploy'd  by  the  City ;  then  by  the 
Earl  of  Essex,  my  Lord  Say,  and  others ;  and  my  return 
stopt  by  the  Power  that  was  ;  and  so  was  in  the  last  Army 
in  several  places,  but  never  in  the  North :  In  all  which 
affairs  I  did  labour  to  perswade  the  Army  to  their  duty. 
My  principles  in  Keligion  guided  me  to  those  Orthodox 
truths  exprest  in  the  Confessions  of  Faith  in  England ; 
and  known  to  joyn  with  the  Protestants  who  are  found  in 
the  Faith,  in  Germany  upper  and  lower,  France,  &c,  I  have 
and  do  hereby  witness  against  all  Errours  of  all  kinds. 
For  the  War,  I  thought  the  Undertakers  knew  their 
Work;  I  was  inconsiderable,  yea,  heartily  sorry  for 
mistakes  about  me.  For  my  Carriage,  I  challenge  all 
the  Kings  party  to  speak  if  I  were  uncivil ;  nay,  many  of 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  69 

them  had  my  Purse,  Hand,  Help  every  way,  and  are 
ready  to  witness  it ;  yea,  his  present  Majesties  servants 
preserved  by  me  through  hazards.  I  was  never  privy  to 
the  Armies  transactions  about  the  late  King  at  Holmby 
or  elsewhere,  or  of  any  Juncto,  Council  or  Cabal.  But 
when  his  Majesty  sent  for  me,  I  went  to  him,  with  whom 
I  dealt  about  my  New  England  business,  &  was  three  or 
four  times  with  him,  and  had  his  special  acceptance  and 
served  him  to  my  utmost,  and  used  all  my  little  skill  for 
his  and  the  Nations  good  more  than  twice :  for  which  I 
have  witness ;  though  it  be  hard  to  cut  my  way  through 
so  many  Rocks.  But  God  is  Good. 

"It  is  true,  I  was  of  a  Party,  when  I  acted  zealously, 
but  not  with  malice  or  mischief:  it  hath  been  accounted 
Honourable,  Et  Cesare  in  hoste  probat,  to  keep  to  principles 
of  honour  and  honesty.  I  never  quarrelled  others  for 
their  judgment  in  Conscience.  It  is  received ,  that  Religio 
docenda  est,  non  coercend.  I  saw  Reformation  growing, 
Laws  made,  and  some  against  debauchery  and  evil  (which  I 
was  glad  to  read  in  his  Majesties  late  Proclamation) .  I  saw 
a  very  learned,  godly,  able  Ministry  as  any  in  the  World, 
well  provided  for :  I  saw  the  Universities  reformed,  and 
flourishing ;  and  such  things  much  encouraged  me  in  my 
Endeavours.  I  studyed  the  13  of  the  Rom.  and  was 
tender ;  but  found  the  best  of  Scotland  and  England  of 
the  Ministry  engaged,  and  so  satisfied  me,  that  I 
understand  the  first  undertaking  is  still  maintained  good. 
By  the  War,  I  never  enriched  myself:  I  have  often 
offer'd  my  personal  Estate  for  2001,  and  for  Lands,  I  never 
had  any  but  that  part  of  a  Noblemans,  which  I  never  laid 
up  peny  of;  nor  never  urged  the  Lord  Grey,  or  others, 
to  buy,  nor  knew  not  of  the  sale,  till  done ;  nor  justifie 
any  unworthy  thing  in  it.  I  never  plundered  nor  cheated, 
never  made  peny  over  the  Sea,  nor  hoarded  or  hid  any 
in  England. 

"I  never  was  guilty  of  secluding  the  Members  in  48, 
nor  knew  it,  till  done,  and  sent  by  my  Lord  Fairfax  to 
fetch  off  two  of  them,  and  to  know  who  they  were  that 
were  secluded. 

"I  never  had  Jewels,  nor  anything  of  Court  or  State, 
more  than  before,  directly  nor  indirectly.  Never  had  any 


70  HUGH   PETER: 

Ecclesiastical  Promotion  in  my  life  in  the  Nation  to  enrich 
me ;  but  lived  on  my  own  when  I  had  any  thing :  nor 
have  been  a  lover  of  money. 

"The  many  scandals  upon  me  for  uncleanness,  &c.,  I 
abhor  as  vile  and  false,  being  kept  from  that  and  those 
aspersions  cast ;  and  such  I  make  my  protest  against  as 
before.  I  know  how  low  my  name  runs,  how  Titleless, 
how  contemned.  David  knew  why  Shemei  curst  him. 

"For  the  Laws  of  England,  I  know  no  place  hath  better  : 
onely  having  lived  where  things  are  more  expedite  and 
cheap,  I  have  shewed  my  folly  so  to  say :  and  having  no 
evil  intention,  a  very  worthy  Lawyer  took  exception  at 
something  of  mine  or  my  friends,  which  was  never  intended 
in  his  sense  by  either,  and  crave  his  excuse  ;  I  can  charge 
my  self  with  evil  enough,  as  any  excentrick  motion  of  mine 
from  my  own  Calling,  want  of  a  solemn  spirit  in  slight 
times,  with  unbelief,  if  I  have  gone  about  to  reach 
Religious  ends  by  trampling  upon  civil  duties,  breaking 
of  any  Covenants,  or  slighting  them  ;  and  do  fear  Gospel, 
and  the  Spirit  also  may  be  undervalued  by  mine,  and 
others  unworthy  dealing  with  them.  Much  to  these  I 
might  add,  who  have  seen  many  vanities  under  the  Sun  ; 
and  the  World  hung  with  Nets  and  Snares:  Alas,  there  is 
nothing  to  Christ. 

"And  lastly,  I  understand  what  exception  is  upon  me 
for  Life  and  Estate  in  the  House  of  Commons.  I  have 
taken  hold  of  the  Kings  Majesties  gracious  Pardon,  as 
others  did ;  and  know  not  truly  where  this  exception  lies 
grounded.  I  wish  I  had  been  with  their  Honours  to  have 
clear'd  it.  I  hope  a  Vagrant  report  or  Airy  Noise  takes 
no  Place  with  them :  for  I  challenge  the  World  for  my 
innocence  for  these  suggestions ;  and  appeal  to  their 
Honours,  and  the  Noble  Lords  for  a  review  of  the  Charge 
or  Information ;  and  crave  no  favour  if  any  sober  man 
can  charge  me  ;  otherwise  I  most  heartily  beg  just  favour, 
unless  my  evil  be  only  for  acting  with  such  a  party,  I 
must  have  it :  For  I  know  before  whom  my  Cause  is,  and 
may  not  despair. 

"I  must  again  profess  were  I  not  a  Christian,  I  am  a 
Gentleman  by  birth,  and  from  that  extract  do  scorn  to 
engage  in  the  vile  things  suggested,  and  that  by  one 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  71 

creditless    witness,    that    only     supposeth,  but    asserts 
nothing. 

"I  wish  from  my  heart  that  our  present  Prince  may 
be,  and  the  Nation  by  him  more  happy  then  any ;  and 
that  the  true  ends  of  Government  may  be  had  and 
communicated  fully;  that  every  honest  heart  may  have 
cause  to  rejoyce  in  God,  the  King,  and  their  Laws.  And 
for  my  self  (through  Grace)  I  resolve  to  be  quiet  in  a 
corner  (if  I  may)  to  let  God  alone  with  ruling  the  World, 
to  whose  Wisdom  and  Power  we  ought  to  submit ;  yea, 
to  mind  mine  own  work,  though  never  so  small ;  to  be 
passive  under  Authority,  rather  then  impatient;  to 
procure  the  quiet  and  peace  of  the  Nation  to  my  utmost ; 
to  mind  things  invisible,  and  of  a  better  consistence  then 
these  below ;  and  to  pray,  when  I  can  do  no  more. 

Hugh  Peters."* 

EXTRACTS  FROM  "A  DYING  FATHER'S  LAST  LEGACY 
TO  AN  ONELY  CHILD." 

"  There  [in  New  England]  I  continued  seven  years  till 
sent  thither  by  the  Plantation  to  mediate  for  ease  in 
Customs  and  Excise ;  the  Country  being  poor,  and  a 
tender  Plant,  of  their  own  setting  and  manuring.  But 
coming  hither,  found  the  Nation  imbroiled  in  those  Civil 
Discontents,  Jars  and  Wars,  and  here  was  forced  to  stay, 
though  I  had  nothing  to  support  me  but  the  Parliament's 
Promises.  And  not  being  able  in  a  short  time  to  compass 
my  Errand,  studied  with  a  constant  purpose  of  Returning, 
and  went  with  the  first  to  Ireland,  most  of  your  London 
Godly  Ministers  being  engaged  in  Person,  Purse  and 
Preaching  in  the  Trouble  ;  I  thought  Ireland  the  clearest 

*  No  date  Is  given  to  these  printed  pages,  but  they  were  evidently  written  early 
in  1660,  O.S.;  they  are  bound  with  two  other  short  articles:  "Petars  Pattern,  or 
The  perfect  Path  to  Worldly  Happiness,  As  it  was  delivered  in  a  Funeral  Sermon 
Preached  at  the  Interrment  of  Mr.  Hugh  Peters  lately  deceased.  By  I.  C. 
Translator  of  Pineda  upon  Job,  and  one  of  the  Triers.  Gusman,  Lib.  i. 
Chap.  2.  Verse  4.  Amicus  Plato,  sed  magis  arnica  veritas.  London,  printed  in 
the  Year  1659,"  and  "The  Tryall  and  Condemnation  of  Mr.  John  Cooke,  Sollicitor 
to  the  late  High-court  of  Injustice,  and  Mr.  Hugh  Peters,  that  carnall  Prophet. 
For  their  severall  High-treasons,  &c.  At  the  Sessions  house  in  the  Old-baily,  on 
Saturday,  the  13  of  October,  1660.  Together  with  Their  severall  Pleas,  and  the 
Answers  thereunto.  Proverbs  25.  v.  5.  Take  away  the  wicked  from  before 
the  King,  and  His  Throne  shall  be  established  in  righteousness.  London 
Printed  lor  John  Stafford  and  Edward  Thomas,  1660." 


72  HUGH   PETER  . 

work ;  and  had  the  Pay  of  a  Preacher  then  and  afterward, 
as  I  could  get  it ;  I  was  not  there  at  Edge-hill,  nor  the 
Bishop  of  Canterburies  troubles  or  death.  Upon  my 
return  was  staid  again  from  going  home  [mark,  he  calls 
it  home]  by  the  Earl  of  Warwick  my  Patron ;  then  by 
the  Earl  of  Essex,  afterward  by  the  Parliament,  who  at 
last  gave  me  an  Estate,  now  taken  away.  I  had  access 
to  the  King  about  my  New-England  business ;  he  used 
me  civilly  ;  I,  in  requital,  offered  my  poor  thoughts  three 
times  for  his  safety ;  I  never  had  hand  in  contriving  or 
acting  his  Death,  as  I  am  scandalized,  but  the  contrary 
(to  my  mean  power  :)  I  was  never  in  any  Council  or  Cabal 
at  any  time,  I  hated  it,  and  had  no  stowage  for  Council, 
thinking  all  Government  should  lie  open  to  all ;  nor  had 
a  penny  from  any  General,  but  lived  in  debt,  as  now  I 
am  ;  nor  had  means  for  my  Expenses,  what  I  had  others 
shared  in.  I  confesse  I  did  what  I  did  strenuously,  though 
with  a  weak  head,  being  over-laid  with  my  own  and  others 
troubles  ;  never  was  angry  with  any  of  the  King's  Party, 
nor  any  of  them  for  being  so ;  thought  the  Parliament- 
Authority  lawfull  and  never  studied  it  much :  have  not 
had  my  hand  in  any  man's  blood,  but  saved  many  in  Life 
and  Estate.  The  Parliament  in  1644  gave  me  the  Bishop's 
Books  valued  at  140£.  which  I  intended  for  New-England, 
being  a  part  of  his  private  Library,  which  (with  all  mine 
own)  I  have  often  offered  for  150£.  the  mistake  about  them 
was  and  is  great,  for  they  never  were  so  considerable  : 
And  these  were  my  gettings  who  never  aimed  to  be  rich 
nor  ever  had  means  to  reach  it.  ... 

"  The  Changes  grew  (as  you  see)  a  Commonwealth  I 
found  but  thus  altered :  I  staid  so  long  at  White-hall, 
contented  with  any  good  Government  that  could  keep 
things  together  ;  till  the  breach  of  that  they  call  Richard's 
Parliament,  and  then  I  removed,  and  never  returned  more, 
but  fell  sick  long,  and  in  trouble  ever  since;  never  was 
summoned  but  once  by  the  Council  which  was  in  April, 
about  Books ;  of  which  (lying  sick)  I  craved  of  the 
President  of  the  Council  to  excuse  me,  who  sent  unto  me 
he  had,  and  I  gave  him  an  account  of  the  Books :  but 
hearing  that  my  Estate  was  gone,  and  I  indebted,  was 
private,  and  did  purpose  so  to  live,  and  so  to  die,  having 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  73 

a  resolution  (which  I  kept)  never  to  meddle  with  State- 
matters,  but  either  here,  or  in  New-England,  to  spend  my 
old  age,  in  looking  into  my  Grave  and  Eternity :  and 
never  had  to  do  with  any  Insurrection  with  Souldiers  or 
others ;  nor  never  would,  had  I  a  longer  life,  my  head  and 
heart  be  tired,  as  well  as  my  body  craz'd  :  I  thought  the 
Act  of  Indemnity  would  have  included  me,  but  the  hard 
Character  upon  me,  excluded  me,  which  I  was  so  sensible 
of,  that  Nature  (in  its  own  preservation)  carried  me  to 
privacy ;  but  free  from  that  report  of  the  manner  which 
is  suggested,  of  which  you  may  be  assured  :  By  my  zeal 
(it  seems)  I  have  exposed  myself  to  all  manner  of  reproach  : 
but  wish  you  to  know  that  (besides  your  Mother)  have 
had  no  fellowship  (that  way)  with  any  Woman  since  first 
I  knew  her,  having  a  godly  wife  before  also,  I  blesse  God. 
"But  because  what  is  before  written,  may  seem  my 
white  side  only,  I  shall  deal  in  all  plainness  with  you, 
That  though  in  Religion  I  am  and  have  been  really  sound 
and  Orthodox  to  my  best  apprehension,  according  to  the 
blessed  Word  of  God  ;  and  the  generality  of  the  Protestant 
Confessions ;  yea,  though  I  travell'd  through  Protestant 
Churches  for  Order,  to  copy  the  best,  and  have  joyned 
with  the  Churches  of  Christ,  and  took  in  with  that  I  call  a 
Tender  Presbytery,  for  such  was  ours  in  New-England, 
and  yet  so,  as  I  never  unchurcht  any  Parish  where  a  godly 
Minister  was,  and  godly  People  joyned  together,  though 
not  all  so  ;  and  do  know  God  may  have  a  People  under 
all  forms  and  would  withdraw  to  the  furthest  Judges,  rather 
than  give  offence  to  what  I  cannot  close  with ;  yet  so 
unworthy  have  my  thoughts  been  of  myself  to  be  a  meet 
Preacher  of  the  Gospel,  that  more  than  twice  had  I  given 
it  over,  had  not  Friends  prevailed ;  yea,  my  profession 
of  the  Gospel  hath  been  with  much  folly,  weakness  and 
vanity :  I  crave  pardon  of  any  that  have  taken  offence, 
though  in  a  Christian  way  I  have  not  had  the  reproofs  of 
Three  either  for  Preaching  or  Conversation .  I  am  heartily 
sorry  I  was  Popular,  and  known  better  to  others  than 
myself :  It  hath  much  lain  to  my  heart  above  any  thing 
almost,  That  I  left  the  people  I  was  engaged  to  in  New- 
England,  it  cuts  deeply,  I  look  upon  it  as  a  Root-evil : 
and  though  I  was  never  Parson  nor  Vicar,  never  took 


74  HUGH   PETER  : 

Ecclesiastical  promotion,  never  preach'd  upon  any 
agreement  for  money  in  my  life,  though  not  without 
offers,  and  great  ones ;  yet  I  had  a  Flock,  I  say  I  had  a 
Flock  to  whom  I  was  ordained,  who  were  worthy  of  my 
Life  and  Labours ;  but  I  could  never  think  my  self  fit  to 
be  their  Pastor,  so  unaccomplisht  for  such  a  work,  for 
which,  who  is  sufficient  (cryes  the  Apostle)  ? 

"This  is  my  sore  trouble  ;  and  a  private  life  would  have 
become  me  best,  and  my  poor  gift  have  had  its  vent  also. 
But  here  I  was  overpowered  to  stay.  For  Errors  in 
Judgment  I  have  pittied,  never  closed  with  any  that  I 
know ;  when  I  was  a  Tryer  of  others,  I  went  to  hear  and 
gain  Experience  rather  than  to  judge :  When  I  was 
called  about  mending  Laws,  I  rather  was  there  to  pray 
than  to  mend  Laws  ;  When  to  judge  in  Wills,  I  only  went 
sometimes  to  learn,  and  help  the  Poor,  than  to  judge,  but 
in  all  these  I  confesse  I  might  well  have  been  spared. 

"  Nor  do  I  take  pleasure  in  remembering  any  my  least 
activity  in  State-matters,  though  this  I  can  say,  I  nowhere 
minded  who  ruled  fewer  or  more,  so  the  good  ends  of 
Government  be  given  out,  in  which  men  may  live  in 
Godliness  and  Honesty.  I  have  often  said,  That  is  a  good 
Government,  where  men  may  be  as  good  as  they  can,  not 
so  bad  as  they  would;  where  good  men  and  things  are 
uppermost ;  and  have  thought  if  good  Magistrates  cannot 
bring  all  to  their  Judgments,  the  Dissenters  may  have 
liberty,  being  kept  out  of  office,  and  want  some  other 
publick  characters.  That  which  a  Friend  of  mine,  and 
myself  writ  by  Letters  about  Magistrates,  was  very  little, 
and  the  Records  of  the  Tower  were  only  named,  as  giving 
way  to  all  other  Records,  to  cut  off  dissentions,  or  marks 
of  Tyranny,  which  no  good  Prince  will  exercise  ;  I  am 
sorry  if  any  offended,  it  was  Zeal  for  Quietnesse.  I  honour 
Laws,  and  good  Lawyers  heartily,  and  know  their  use ; 
only  ease,  expedition  and  cheapness,  what  good  man  doth 
not  call  for?  Sedition  is  the  heating  mens  minds  against 
the  present  Authority,  in  that  I  never  was,  yet  sorry, 
Authority  should  have  any  hard  thoughts  of  me,  or  know 
so  inconsiderable  a  creature  as  myself.  I  never  could  be 
fit  for  a  Court,  many  wayes  not  fit,  and  am  therefore 
grieved  that  I  was  either  constrained,  or  content  to  live, 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  75 

where  I  could  do  so  little  good ;  for  I  would  dye  without 
a  secret  in  my  bosom,  unless  Cases  of  Conscience  in  the 
way  of  Preaching,  which  are  secret,  indeed ;  and  for 
reading  them  to  the  world  I  had  appointed  a  Portion  had 
it  been  continued  to  me. 

"  Upon  all  this  you  may  ask  what  design  I  drove,  being 
look'd  upon  that  way  ?  Truly  these  three  : 

"  First,  That  Goodness,  that  which  is  really  so,  and  such 
Religion  might  be  highly  advanced. 

"  Secondly,  That  good  Learning  might  have  all 
Countenance. 

w  Thirdly,  That  there  might  not  be  a  Beggar  in  Israel, 
in  England. 

"And  for  all  these  I  have  projected  or  laboured,  and  I 
have  no  other.  And  these  I  pray  his  present  Majesty  may 
looke  to,  and  that  God  would  blesse  him  every  way. 

"  If  in  the  prosecutions  of  these  I  have  used  any  of  my 
wonted  rudenesse,or  unguarded  zeal  I  am  heartily  as  Sorry. 
So  begging  pardon  from  God  and  Man,  Constitution  or 
Custom,  I  conclude  in  these  particulars,  though  the  aim 
be  good. 

w  I  conclude  the  former  thus  :  I  think,  That  as  bad  men 
care  not  who  rule,  or  what  is  uppermost,  so  they  may  have 
their  lusts  ;  so  good  men,  if  they  may  enjoy  God  and  his 
Truth,  with  good  Conscience.  For  my  whole  course  you 
know  and  feel  where  my  wound  heth  been  these  Twenty 
years,*  which  hath  occasioned  not  only  my  Head  and 
Heart  breaking,  but  travelling  from  mine  own  Nest  into 
businesse. 

"Blesse  God,  if  ever  you  meet  with  suitableness  in 
Marriage  :  For  my  spirit  it  wanted  weight,  through  many 
tossings,  my  head  that  composure  others  have,  credulous, 
and  too  careless ;  but  never  mischievous  nor  malicious : 
I  thought  my  work  was  to  serve  others,  and  so  mine  own 
Garden  not  so  well  cultivated ;  only  this  I  say,  I  aimed  at 
a  good  mark,  and  trust  the  Lord  in  Jesus  Christ  hath 
accepted  it.  My  Faith  in  the  Everlasting  Covenant  was 
and  is,  though  feeble,  yet  Faith.  I  could  thus  continue, 
ripping  my  whole  heart  to  you,  who  have  very  often  had 
great  success,  even  to  the  last  hours  of  my  last  Preaching, 

*  His  wife's  mental  malady. 


76  HUGH  PETER: 

and  am  preaching  the  life  of  Faith  to  my  self,  to  which 
call  in  all  prayers  to  the  Father  in  Jesus  Christ  his  dearest 
Son,  to  whom  let  us  look,  as  the  Author  and  Finisher  of 
our  Faith,  who  for  the  pay  that  was  set  before  him, 
endured  the  Crosse,  despised  the  Shame,  and  now  sits  at 
the  right  hand  of  Majestic,  making  Intercessions  for 
Transgressors,  Heb.  12, 12.  To  whom  be  Glory  and  Praise, 
and  Thanks  for  Ever.  For  he  is  worthy,  who  hath  washed 
us  from  our  sins  by  his  own  Blood,  and  made  us  Kings, 
and  Priests  unto  God  the  Father ;  To  him  be  Glory  and 
Dominion  for  ever. 

"  For  that  part  of  my  Lord  Craven's  Estate,  which  I 
have,  took  no  small  place  in  my  trouble.*  You  may  know 
that  I  was  not  in  the  City  when  that  Act  was  made,  nor 
urged  my  Lord  Grey  to  buy ;  nor  ever  advised  the  said 
Lord  (as  I  had  time)  but  to  good  and  just  things  and 
company,  against  that  Spirit  of  Levelling  then  stirring : 
and  do  heartily  wish,  that  taken  offence  might  dye:  for 
it  was  not  intended  by  me,  who  could  and  can  be  as 
well  contented  without  Land,  as  with  it;  never  being 
ambitious  to  be  great  or  rich  since  I  knew  better  things. 

"And  now  I  must  return  to  yourself  again, and  to  give  you 
my  thoughts  about  your  own  Condition.  I  do  first  commend 
you  to  the  Lord,  and  then  to  the  care  of  a  Faithfull  Friend, 
whom  I  shall  name  unto  you,  if  a  Friend  may  be  found  in 
this  Juncture,  that  dare  own  your  Name  (though  there  be 
more  of  your  Name)  and  if  such  a  Friend  advise  it,  that 
you  serve  in  some  Godly  Family,  to  which  you  seem  to 
incline,  and  must  (it  seems)  ;  but  truly  if  not  a  good 
Family,  what  will  your  Condition  be  ?  Dwell  where  God 
dwells,  and  be  in  such  Company,  as  you  must  be  with  in 
Heaven,  and  then  you  do  but  change  your  place,  not  your 
company,  though  it  be  unexpected  and  uncouth,  yet 
remember  the  best  men  have  been  servants,  Moses  kept 
his  father's  sheep ;  so  Jacob  and  the  Patriarchs ;  David  to 
Saul,  and  many  more ;  I  have  before  given  thee  Rules 
for  it ;  and  be  sure  to  be  steady  to  Family  and  Private 

*  The  Parliament  had  granted  Peter  lands  out  of  Lord  Craven's  estate.  "1660. 
Ye  10th  d.  of  the  6th  Mo.  Concerning  Mr  Peters  I  heare  little,  onely  from  brother 
Hooker,  that  the  lord  Craven  waytes  hopefully  for  the  restitution  of  his  lands, 
wherein,  he  saith  Mr  Peters  hath  a  share,  he  is  of  kin  to  Monck,  and  sometimes 
dineth  with  him."— The  Bevd.  John  Davenport  to  John  Winthrop  Jr.  Newhaven. 
Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  3rd  series,  Vol.  x,  p.  38. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  77 

Duties,  your  Life  will  be  dead  without  them,  call  your 
Condition  God's  Ordinance,  and  he  can  blesse  it  to  you. 
But  if  you  would  go  home  to  New-England  (which  you 
have  much  reason  to  do)  go  with  good  Company  and  trust 
God  there ;  the  Church  are  a  Tender  Company ;  a  little 
will  carry  us  through  the  world,  yea  very  little :  Oh 
Godliness  with  Content !  Your  faithfulness  to  me  and 
your  Mother  will  find  acceptance  in  Heaven,  I  trust.  My 
dear  Child,  tell  me  how  cotildst  thou  be  without  God's 
Rod  ?  remember  he  hath  a  Staffe  also.  For  your  Mother 
(considering  her  distemper)  I  have  and  shall  say  more 
unto  you.  To  his  Grace  who  is  able  to  do  above  all  we 
can  ask  or  think,  I  commend  you  both." 

"And  it  I  go  shortly  where  time  shall  be  no  more,  where 
Cock  nor  Clock  distinguish  hours,  sink  not ;  but  lay  thy 
head  in  his  Bosom  who  can  help  thee  :  for  he  sits  upon 
the  Waves.  Farewell. 

"And  since  we  must  part,  must  part ;  take  my  Wishes, 
Sighs  and  Groans  to  follow  thee,  and  pitty  the  feebleness 
of  what  I  have  sent,  being  writ  under  much,  yea  very 
much  discomposure  of  spirit."* 

This  written  testimony  concerning  his  life  and  work  is 
added  to  that  which  he  gave  at  his  trial.  History  itself 
tells  us  of  his  many  kindnesses  to  distressed  royalists ; 
and  no  less  a  person  than  the  King  himself  was,  while  in 
prison,  indebted  to  Peter  for  the  services  of  Dr.  Juxon, 
Bishop  of  London,  and  for  the  admittance  to  his  person 
of  Sir  John  Denham  intrusted  with  a  message  from  the 
Queen,  f 

"Some  Notes  taken  of  a  Sermon  preached  by  |  Mr. 
Hugh  Peters,  the  14th.  of  October,  1660,  |  after  his 
condemnation,  in  the  Prison  of  Newgate,  |  where  he  was 
much  interrupted  by  the  coming  in  and  |  going  forth  of 
strangers  that  came  to  see  him,  and  |  the  other  prisoners, 
in  the  Room  with  him,  and  so  |  was  constrained  to  break 
off  the  sooner ;  And  though  |  they  are  but  brief  Heads, 

*  "A  dying  Father's  Last  Legacy  to  an  Onely  Child,  or  Mr.  Hugh  Peters  Advice 
to  his  Daughter,  written  by  his  own  Hand  during  his  late  Imprisonment  in  the 
Tower  of  London;  and  given  her  a  little  before  his  Death." 

tWhitelock:  Sir  John  Denham'e  Epsi.  Dedlc.  to  Charles  II.  of  his  Poems;  2d 
ed.  1671. 


78  HUGH   PETER: 

yet  it's  thought  con-  |  venient  here  to  insert  them,  for  the 
better  satisfac-  |  tion  of  any  touching  the  frame  of  Mr. 
Hugh  Peters  |  at  the  time.  | 

"The  discourse  was  from  Psal.  42,  ver.  11 :  Why  art 
thoucast  down,  O  my  soule?  and  why  art  thou  disquieted 
within  me  ?  Hope  thou  in  God  for  I  shall  yet  praise  him, 
who  is  the  health  of  my  Countenance  and  my  God. 

"After  Analyzing  the  psalme,  he  Observed  this  Doctrine. 

"Doctrine,  That  the  best  of  God's  people  are  apt  to  be 
disponding,  This  was  the  Man's  case  in  the  whole  88  psal, 
Also  David's  case,  when  he  complained  of  the  breaking  of 
his  Bones,  &c,  This  was  Christs  case  himselfe,  when  he 
cryed  out  My  God,  My  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me. 

"The  Reasons  why  the  best  of  God's  people,  are  apt  to 
dispondencies,  are, 

"First,  When  something  falls  out  from  God  more  than 
ordinary,  when  God  puts  weight  in  Sorrow  and  Affliction, 
that  makes  it  sinking ;  Although  that  Afflictions  are  heavy 
of  themselves  many  times,  yet  it's  the  weight  that  God 
puts  in  sorrow,  that  makes  it  sink  us. 

"21y  Over-valuing  our  comforts,  putting  too  much  upon 
Wife,  Children,  Estate,  or  Life  itself,  a  man  is  apt  to  be 
cast  down  when  he  thinks  of  parting  with  them. 

"Thirdly,  Our  unpreparednesse  for  sufferings,  and 
afflictions  that  makes  us  dispond.  Also,  I  thought  not  of 
it  say  some,  its  come  unexpectedly  upon  me. 

"Fourthly,  We  are  apt  to  dispond  when  our  Afflictions 
are  many  when  they  are  multitudes,  when  all  is  struck  at 
together,  Name,  Estate,  Relations  and  Life  itself. 

"Fifthly,  When  Afflictions  are  of  long  continuance,  a 
man  can  bear  that  Burthen  a  while,  that  he  cannot  stand 
under  long. 

"Sixthly,  when  Afflictions  fall  upon  the  noblest  part  of 
man  which  is  his  soule,  then  are  dispondencies  apt  to  come 
in. 

"Seventhly,  When  we  have  more  Sense  then  Faith, 

"Now  it  should  not  be  so,  God's  people  ought  not  to 
be  so,  God's  people  ought  not  to  dispond,  1.  Because  it 
discovers  impatiency.  2.  Because  it  discovers  want  of 
Faith,  they  leane  not  upon  the  Rock  that  will  not  faile 
them.  3.  It  discovers  want  of  Wisdom,  &c.  4.  We 


PREACHEE,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  79 

should  not  be  thus,  because  it  gratifies  the  Enemy,  who 
in  such  a  case  is  ready  to  upbraid  us,  and  say,  where 
is  now  their  God  ?  what  is  become  of  their  God  ? 

"Now  what  cure  and  remedies  are  there  for  disponding. 
The  Eleventh  verse  gives  two.  First,  Hope  in  God, 
Hope  thou  in  God.  Secondly,  Faith  is  set  on  work, 
I  shall  yet  praise  him,  &c. 

"But  more  particularly  take  these  directions.  1.  Be 
carefull  of  exercising  faith,  for  no  condition  of  man 
superceeds  his  Faith,  do  all  in  Faith,  pray  in  Faith,  and 
bear  in  Faith,  &c.  Now  what  is  the  exercise  of  Faith 
but  rouling*  upon  Christ,  and  staying  on  him,  here  I'll 
stick,  if  I  perish,  I  perish. 

"The  miscarriages  of  Christians,  is  either  because  they 
have  no  faith,  or  else,  because,  if  they  have  faith,  they 
give  it  not  food  to  live  upon ;  faith  must  go  to  Christ,  as 
the  Liver  Vaine  and  fetch  blood  and  life  thence.  We  quarrel 
that*we  have  not  Love,  and  patience  and  meeknesse, 
&c.  but  the  defect  lyes  in  our  faith,  if  we  had  more  faith 
we  should  have  more  of  all  other  Graces. 

"Now  what  is  the  food  of  faith?  Ans.  Faith  will  not 
feed  upon  every  dish,  not  on  a  stalled  Ox  or  fatted  Calfe  ; 
prosperity  is  not  faiths  food.  But  it  will  Eat  a  word, 
live  upon  promises,  these  nourish  faith,  I  will  never  leave 
thee,  nor  forsake  thee,  all  things  shall  work  together  for 
good,  and  the  like  promises. 

"2.  Be  marvellously  carefull  of  things  below,  measure 
things  below,  measure  things  not  by  sense,  or  by  a  day, 
but  by  faith  and  Eternity ;  we  are  troubled  at  the  losse 
of  this  and  tother  Creature,  and  comfort,  but  what's  the 
value  of  them,  the  over  valluiug  things  is  our  mischiefe. 

"3.  Go  and  tell  the  Lord  Christ  I  have  defiled 
conscience,  and  if  thou  doest  not  wash  me,  I  am  undone 
for  Ever.  See  the  necessity  and  worth  of  Christ ;  there 
must  be  something  better  to  look  at  than  what  we  loose 
for  the  present,  something  above  Estate,  and  Life,  and 
Relations,  and  Name.  See  the  worth  of  Christ's  blood, 

*This  curious  word  is  evidently  "roll."  See  Pepys'  Diary,  Mar.  7,1661-2. 
"Early  to  White  Hall  to  the  Chapel  where,  by  Mr.  Blagrave's  means  I  got  into 
his  pew  and  heard  Dr.  Creeton,  the  great  Scotchman  and  chaplain  in  ordinary  to 
the  King,  preach  before  the  King,  and  Duke  and  Duchess  upon  the  words  of 
Micah:  'Roule  yourselves  in  dust.'  He  made  a  most  learned  sermon  upon  the 
words ;  but  in  his  application,  the  most  comical  man  that  ever  I  heard  in  my  life. 
Just  such  a  man  as  Hugh  Peter." 


80  HUGH   PETER: 

it's  worth  all  the  world ,  because  what  the  blood  of  Bulls  and 
Goats  could  not  doe,  his  blood  doth  cleanse  from  all  sinne. 
"  4.  Keep  close  to  the  use  of  Ordinances  much  of  our 
mischief  hath  come  from  neglects  of  this  kind  ;  the  safety 
of  a  Christian  lyes  in  the  enjoyment  of  Church  Communion, 
Psal.  xxvii-4,  5,  and  6  Verses,  One  thing  I  have  desired 
of  the  Lord,  and  that  will  I  seeke  after,  that  I  may  dwell 
in  the  house  of  the  Lord  all  the  dayes  of  my  Life,  &c.  for 
in  the  time  of  trouble  he  shall  hide  me  in  his  Pavillion, 
in  the  secret  of  his  Tabernacle,  shall  he  hide  me,  he  shall 
set  me  upon  a  Rock ;  and  now  shall  my  head  be  lifted  up 
above  mine  Enemies  round  about  me,  &c.  The  greatest 
fears  are  dispelled  then — you  shall  find  before  troubles 
passe  over  (for  you  expect  some)  it  will  be  a  hard  matter 
to  break  Churches,  they  are  so  fast  Chayned  together,  and 
yet  there  hath  been  marvellous  miscarriages  amongst 
Saints  in  their  Church  Relations. 

FINIS. 

He  also  during  his  imprisonment  in  the  Tower,  wrote 
some  sheets  of  paper  to  his  Daughter,  leaving  them  with 
her  as  his  last  Legacy,  containing  in  it  very  much  sound 
and  wholesome  advice  as  to  her  soules  health.  It  carries 
with  it  such  a  savour  as  denotes  it  proceeds  from  a  spirit 
that  hath  learned  experience  in  Christ's  schoole,  and  hath 
been  acquainted  sometimes  with  sunshine  as  well  as  foul 
weather,  it's  too  long  here  to  be  inserted,  but  if  it  be 
made  publick  by  itselfe,  doubtlesse  the  Experienced 
Reader  will  be  no  looser  by  perusing  this  legacy." 

In  Cobbett's  State  Trials,  London,  1792,  appear  the 
following  extracts  from  "  Some  Memorable  Passages  of 
Mr.  Hugh  Peters,  in  his  Imprisonment  at  Newgate,  and 
at  the  time  of  his  Execution  at  Charing-Crosse,  October 
16,  1660. 

"Mr.  Peters,  as  is  well  known,  was  exercised  under  a 
great  Conflict  in  his  own  Spirit,  during  the  time  of  his 
Imprisonment,  fearing  (as  he  would  often  say)  that  he 
should  not  go  through  his  Sufferings  with  Courage  and 
Comfort,  and  said  to  Friends,  that  he  was  somewhat 
unprepared  for  Death,  and  therefore  unwilling  to  dye ; 
something  he  said  he  had  committed,  and  other  things 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  81 

omitted,  which  troubled  him;  but  tho'  it  was  a  Cloudy 
and  dark  Day  with  him  for  a  Season  ;  yet  the  Light  of 
Gods  Grace  and  Favour  would  break  forth  at  last. 

"  And  surely  the  Favour  of  God  did  at  last  appear,  for 
a  little  before  he  went  forth  to  Execution  (as  many  can 
testify)  he  was  well  composed  in  his  Spirit,  and  cheerfully 
said,  I  thank  God  now  I  can  dye,  I  can  looke  Death  in  the 
Face  and  not  be  afraid. 

"As  for  the  slanderous  Report  which  was  too  much 
received  by  good  People  as  well  as  bad,  to  wit,  that  he 
was  guilty  of  Uncleannesse  :  A  Friend  coming  to  him  in 
Prison,  put  that  Question  seriously  and  soberly  to  his 
Soule,  to  which  he  reply'd  That  he  blessed  the  Lord,  he 
was  wholy  clear  in  that  Matter,  and  that  he  never  knew 
any  woman  but  his  own  wife. 

"  A  Night  or  two  before  he  suffered,  two  of  the  Episcopal 
Clergy,  who  as  some  report  were  the  King's  Chaplains, 
came  to  give  him  a  Visit ;  they  endeavoured  to  make 
Advantage  of  the  Temptations  wherewith  he  was  then 
assaulted,  and  to  perswade  him  to  a  Repentance  and 
Recantation  of  his  former  Activity  in  the  Parliament 
Cause,  which  they  endeavoured  to  enforce  upon  him  by  a 
Promise  of  Pardon  from  the  King,  in  case  he  would  barken 
to  them.  But  tho'  he  was  then  much  afflicted  in  his  Spirit, 
yet  the  Lord  did  help  him  to  beare  up  with  much  Courage 
against  the  Insinuations  of  that  sort  of  Men,  and  told  them 
he  had  no  Cause  in  the  least  to  repent  of  his  Adhering  to 
that  Interest ;  but  rather,  that  he  had  in  the  Prosecution 
thereof  done  no  more  for  God  and  his  People,  in  these 
Nations  ;  and  with  Civility  dismissing  those  Visitants,  he 
applyed  himself  to  some  other  Ministers  then  present, 
whome  he  judged  more  able  to  speake  a  Word  in  Season 
to  him  under  these  great  Tryals,  wherewith  the  Lord  was 
then  pleased  to  exercise  him. 

"  Mr  Cooke  to  Mr  Peters  In  the  Dungeon  said,  'Brother 
Peters,  we  shall  be  in  Heaven  to-morrow  in  Bliss  and 
Glory,  What  a  blessed  thing  is  that,  my  very  heart  leaps 
within  me  for  Joy  ;  I  am  now  just  as  I  was  in  the  storm, 
almost  in  Sight  of  Heaven.  Read  me,  Isaiah,  43,  9-10- 
11;  61;  10-11  Hosea  13-14.'  Then  looking  upon  his 
bed,  said  '  That  shall  be  my  last  Pillow,  I  will  lay  me 


82  HUGH    PETER : 

down  and  sleep  awhile,'  and  he  slept  about  an  hour  and  a 
half,  and  then  awoke  saying,  'Now  farewell  Sleep,  no  more 
Sleep  in  this  World  and  farewell  Darkness  and  Light  I  am 
going  where  there  shall  be  no  Night  there  neither  need  of 
Candle,  nor  of  the  Sun  for  the  Lord  will  give  us  Light ; 
yea,  the  Lord  will  be  our  everlasting  Light,  and  our  God 
will  be  our  Glory.'" 

Justice  Coke  on  the  day  of  execution  said  to  Mr. 
Peters,  "  Brother  Peters,  this  is  our  wedding-day ;  we 
know  that  the  bridegroom  is  come,  and  we  are  ready  to 
enter  into  the  marriage,  we  are  now  going  to  the  souls 
under  the  altar,  and  could  our  Judges  but  know  what 
glory  we  shall  be  in  before  12  o'clock,  they  would  desire 
and  pray  to  be  with  us,  their  blindness  is  my  sorrow ;  for 
when  we  are  gone,  our  blood  will  cry,  and  do  them  more 
hurt,  than  if  we  had  lived." 

The  third  day  after  their  trial,  Oct.  16, 1660,  Peter  and 
the  Solicitor  John  Coke,  who  had  been  one  of  the 
prosecutors  of  the  late  King,  were  dragged  on  "  two 
sleddes  "*  from  Newgate  to  the  place  of  their  execution 
at  Charing-Cross.  Their  sentences  were  the  same,  but 
the  head  of  Major  General  Harrison  had  been  placed  on 
a  pole  on  Coke's  sled  with  the  face  towards  him.  Instead 
of  this  sight  filling  Coke  with  fear  it  appeared  to  inspire 
him  with  courage  and  enthusiasm. 

In  his  last  speech  he  said  (referring  to  Peter's  previous 
state  of  mind) ,  "Here  is  apoorBrother  coming,  I  am  afraid 
that  he  is  not  fit  to  die  at  this  Time ;  I  could  wish  his 
Majesty  might  shew  some  Mercy." 

"The  Sheriffs  interrupted  in  Words  to  this  effect :  'Let 
that  alone,  for  the  King's  Majesty  hath  Clemency  enough 
for  all  but  his  Father's  Murtherers.' " 

Coke  suffered  first :  he  was  hanged  by  the  neck  and  then 
cut  down  alive.  His  body,  after  other  mutilation,  was 
opened  and  the  bowels  were  taken  out  and  burned.  Then 
came  the  merciful  blow  that  severed  the  head  from  the 
body,  and  lastly  the  body  was  cut  into  four  parts  for 
permanent  exhibition  in  as  many  places ;  these  being, 
usually,  the  four  principal  cities  of  the  kingdom,  while  the 
head  was  set  upon  Temple  Bar. 

*  LudJow. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  83 

"Peter,  being  carried  upon  the  Sledge  to  execution,  and 
made  to  sit  within  the  Railes  at  Charing-Crosse  to  behold 
the  Execution  of  Mr  Coke,  One  comes  to  him  and  upbraided 
him  with  the  Death  of  the  King,  bidding  him  (with 
opprobrious  Language)  to  repent :  He  replyed,  '  Friend, 
you  do  not  well  to  trample  upon  a  Dying  Man,  you  are 
greatly  mistaken,  I  had  nothing  to  do  in  the  Death  of  the 
King/ 

"When  Mr  Cooke  was  cut  down  and  brought  to  be 
quartered,  one  they  called  Coll.  Turner,  calling  to  the 
Sheriff's  Men  to  bring  Mr  Peters  near,  that  he  might  see 
it,  And  by  and  by  the  Hangman  came  to  him,  all  besmer'd 
in  Blood,  and  rubbing  his  bloody  Hands  together,  he 
(tauntingly)  ask'd,  'Come,  how  do  you  like  this,  Mr 
Peters,  how  do  you  like  this  Work?'  To  whom  he 
reply'ed,  '  I  am  not  (I  thank  God)  terrifyed  at  it,  you 
may  do  your  worst !' 

"  When  he  was  going  to  his  execution,  he  look't  about 
and  espy'd  a  Man,  to  whom  he  gave  a  Piece  of  Gold 
(having  Bowed  it  first)  and  desir'd  him  to  goe  to  the 
Place  where  his  Daughter  lodged,  and  to  carry  that  to  her 
as  a  Token  from  him,  and  to  let  her  know  that : — * 

"'My  heart  is  full  of  Comfort ;  I  sun  ready  to  die  ;  weep 
not  for  me ;  let  them  weep  who  part  and  shall  never  meet 
again,  you  and  Ishall  meet  again  in  Heaven,  and  before 
this  piece  of  Gold  reaches  you  I  shall  be  with  God  in  Glory, 
where  is  no  Night,  no  need  of  a  Candle,  nor  of  the  Sun 
for  the  Lord  will  give  us  Light.'  The  man  being  dismissed 
with  the  piece  of  gold  Mr  Peters  said  to  the  Sheriff:  'I 
truly  forgive  you  and  all  men  from  my  heart  and  if  you 
will  believe  the  words  of  a  dying  man,  I  tell  you,  I  am 
not  convinced  of  any  thing  I  have  done  amiss  in  the 
business  for  which  I  am  condemned  to  suffer,  and  of 
consequence,  I  do  not  repent  of  anything  there  is  done  by 
me.  I  own  the  cause  of  God  and  his  people  and  I  am 
here  this  day  to  bear  witness  to  it,  I  bless  the  Lord  1  have 
nothing  lying  upon  my  conscience  and  I  bless  the  Lord 
that  he  has  in  goodness  and  mercy  made  me  willing  to 
give  myself  a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable  unto 

*  State  Trials,  London,  1792. 
HIST.  COLL.  VOL.  XXXVin  9 


84  HUGH   PETER : 

God.  I  thank  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  that  in 
weakness  I  am  strong,  and  am  not  unwilling  to  go  to  God 
through  the  fire  and  jaws  of  death,  blessed  be  the  Lord 
Jesus,  that  hath  given  me  the  victory  over  sin  and  death, 
and  hath  supported  me  with  spiritual  Joy  on  this  good 
day.  Oh,  my  soul,  bless  the  Lord,  that  death,  my  good 
friend,  is  come  to  guard  me  out  of  time  into  eternity,  bless 
the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  in  this  moment ;  for  he  is  come  that 
I  have  long  looked  for,  and  support  me  with  his 
everlasting  arm,  come,  beloved  spirit,  come  and  make 
haste,  and  be  thou  like  a  young  roe  upon  the  mountain 
of  spices.  Lord  Jesus,  I  come  to  thee  upon  the  wings  of 
faith,  Lord  Jesus  receive  me  with  grace  into  the  Joy  of 
my  Lord.  Amen.'  Then  with  a  smiling  countenance,  he 
yielded  to  the  stroke  of  death."* 

"  Being  upon  the  ladder  he  [Peter]  spake  to  the  Sherifle 
saying,  Sir,  you  have  here  slain  one  of  the  Servants  of 
God  before  mine  eyes,  and  have  made  me  to  behold  it,  on 
purpose  to  terrifie  and  discourage  me,  but  God  hath  made 
it  for  an  Ordinance  to  me  for  my  Strengthening  and 
Encouragement. 

"When  he  was  going  to  die,  he  said,  'What  Flesh,  art 
thou  unwilling  to  go  to  God  through  the  Fire  and  Jaws  of 
Death?  Oh,  (said  he)  this  is  a  good  day,  he  is  come  that 
I  have  long  look'd  for,  and  I  shall  be  with  him  in  Glory,' 
and  so  smiled  when  he  went  away.f 

"Tuesday  following,  being  the  sixteenth  of  October, 
Mr  John  Cook  and  Mr  Hugh  Peters  were  about  the  same 
hour  [between  nine  and  ten  in  the  morning]  carried  on 
two  Hurdles  to  the  same  place,  and  executed  in  the  same 
manner,  and  their  Quarters  returned  in  like  manner  to  the 
place  whence  they  came  [Newgate] . 

"  The  Head  of  Mr  Cook  is  since  set  on  a  Pole  on  the 
North-East  end  of  Westminster  Hall  (on  the  left  of  Mr 
Harrisons)  looking  towards  London,  and  the  Head  of  Mr 

*  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  above  quotation  canuot  be  placer)  aa  It  per- 
fectly completes  the  account  given  by  Ludlow  and  State  Trials;  but  the  latter 
bays:  "  What  Mr  Peters  said  further  at  his  execution,  either  In  his  speech  or 
prayer  it  could  not  be  taken,  In  regard  his  voice  was  low  at  that  time  and  the 
people  uncivil."  Our  informant  was  evidently  better  placed,  and  heard  all,  as 
the  following  lines  from  "  State  Trials"  appear  to  be  but  imperfectly  heard  frag- 
ments which  do  not  give,  altogether,  the  same  Impression  as  does  the  full  and 
complete  account. 

f  State  Trials,  London,  1792,  Vol.  ir,  p.  418. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  85 

Peters  011  London  Bridge.  Their  Quarters  are  exposed 
in  like  manner  upon  the  tops  of  some  oi'  the  City  Gates."* 

It  is  singular  that  Peters  was  so  severely  treated  when 
others,  much  more  deeply  concerned  in  the  King's  death, 
were  dealt  with  so  differently. 

"  But  the  Body  of  Mr  Hacker  was  by  his  Majesties  just 
favour  given  entire  to  his  friends  and  buried. "f 

"Never,"  said  the  official  newspaper,  "was  person 
suffered  death  so  unpitied  and  (which  is  more)  whose 
execution  was  the  delight  of  the  people. "J 

His  family  was  left  in  extreme  poverty;  in  Juty,  1677, 
John  Knowles  of  London  writes  to  Governor  Leverett 
requesting  among  other  things  that  Mr  Higginson's 
congregation  provide  in  part  for  Mrs.  Peters  who  has  been 
supported  by  Mr  Cockquaine  and  his  church. 

The  following  appears  to  be  the  entry  of  the  marriage 
of  his  daughter : 

"  All  Hallowes  Church,  London  Wall,  April  23,  1665  : 
Thomas  Barker  and  Elizabeth  Peters." 

"Ye  10  Apll,  1703,  Sr.  ...  I  am  desired  by  Mrs 
Elizabeth  Barker  daughter  to  Mr  Hugh  Peters,  to  write 
you  in  her  favour,  in  reference  to  a  coucerne  to  be 
transacted  there  in  recoverie  of  her  father's  lands  and 
estates.  It  hath  beene  so  long  delated  already,  and  if  not 
speedily  donne  will  be  shorte  of  ye  time  of  your  country 
limitations.  Have  taken  much  pains  in  examining  her 
papers  and  letters  from  thence,  wch  directed  her  to  send 
over  letter  of  atturney ;  was  wth  her  before  ye  Lord 
Mayor  of  these  citty,  when  oathe  was  made  of  her  being 
ye  reputed  daughter  of  Mr  Peter.  Some  New  England  men 
were  alsoe  present  to  attest  and  witnesse  it  wth  ye  letter 
of  atturney.  .  .  She  is  a  widow  and  in  low  circumstances. 
If  you  can  bee  servisible  to  her,  it  will  bee  a  grate  kindnesse 
and  respect  to  memory  of  her  father  soe  well  known  in 
New  England. "§ 

Winthrop,  in  his  reply,  refers  to  an  indebtedness  of 
Peter's  to  his  father  of  some  five  or  six  hundred  pounds, 
and  he  professes  himself  unable  to  be  of  any  assistance. 

*  An  Exact  anil  moat  Impartial  Accompt  of  the  Indictment,  Arraignment,  Trial, 
and  Judgment  (according  to  Law)  of  nine  and  twenty  Regicides,  London,  1660. 

t  Col.  Hacker  was  one  of  the  three  officers  charged  with  the  execution  of  the 
King's  sentence. 

J  Dictionary  of  National  Biography  and  Mercurius  Publicus,  Vol.  n,  p.  670. 

}  Letter  from  Samuel  Reade  to  Wait  Winthrop .    Mass.  Higt.  Coll. 


86  HUGH   PETER  : 

There  is  also  a  deposition  from  Elizabeth  Barker  in 
which  she  states  that  having  omitted  certain  things  in  a 
previous  petition  "  some  persons  there  taking  advantage 
thereof  and  of  the  absence  and  poverty  of  the  said 
Elizabeth,  have  entered  into  the  same  property  and  are 
still  in  possession  thereof,  these  derive  noe  title  thereto, 
either  from  the  crowne,  or  from  said  father  or  herself,  but 
are  ready  to  compound  with  her  if  they  may  be  secure 
therein.  The  said  Elizabeth  being  very  poor  having  been 
a  widow  many  yeares,  and  having  had  a  constant  charge 
upon  her  of  eight  children,  three  of  which  in  the  last  war 
died  in  his  Majesty's  service  and  the  rest  being  incapable 
to  afford  her  a  maintenance,  and  she  being  altogether 
helpless,  her  hard  circumstances  rendering  her  a  tit  and 
just  object,  of  her  Majesty's  clemency,  and  therefore 
pra}red  her  Royal  letter  to  Colonel  Dudley,  Governor  of 
Boston  Colony,  to  pass  a  patent  to  her  for  the  said  lands 
formerly  her  father's." 

June  30,  1704.  Elizabeth  Barker  of  London,  widow, 
only  daughter  and  heiress  of  Hugh  Peter,  sometimes 
heretofore  of  Salem,  N.  E.  deceased,  Clerk,  confirms  to 
Robert  Dcvereux  of  Marblehead,  Tanner,  the  farm  of  350 
acres  now  in  his  occupation.* 

In  1703-4,  Samuel  Sewall  in  a  letter  to  John  Thompson, 
of  Jan.  18,  writes:  "The  memory  of  Mr  Peters  is  still 
set  by  in  Salem. "f 

In  his  history  of  Salem,  published  in  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Collections,  1st  series,  Vol.  vn,  Rev.  William 
Bentley  says  of  Hugh  Peter  : 

"No  man  ever  possessed  more  sincerely  the  affections  of 
his  people.  Mr  Hugh  Peters  in  his  person  was  tall  and  thin. 
He  was  active  and  sprightly.  In  speech  he  was  ready  but 
his  language  was  peculiar  to  himself.  He  had  a  power  of 
associating  his  thoughts  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  be  sure  to 
leave  them  upon  the  memory.  If  his  images  were  coarse 
they  were  familiar,  and  never  failed  to  answer  his  purpose 
Wherever  he  went,  whatever  he  said,  it  was  sure  to  be 
remembered.  .  .  .  Mr  Peters  was  known  to  get  the  favour 
of  the  people  by  his  simple  manner  of  living,  travelling 
on  foot  and  freedom  of  conversation." 

*  New  Eng.  Hist,  and  Gen.  Register,  Vol.  XL,  p.  66. 
f  Mass.  HlBt.  Coll.,  6th  series,  Vol.  I,  p.  288. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  87 

Thomas  Burton  says  in  his  Diary  :  "  Hugh  Peters  was 
of  Queen's*  College  where,  is  a  picture  of  him  in  the 
gallery  of  the  Master's  Lodge  which  I  saw  there  March 
21  (1671),  he  is  in  his  own  hair  and  in  a  black  gown  and 
rather  a  well-looking  open  countenanced  man,  the  present 
Muster  Dr  Plumptre  told  me  that  when  he  first  came  to 
the  presidentship  this  inscription  was  on  the  picture : 
f  Hugh  Peters  the  seditious  misleader,'  but  that  he  had 
struck  it  out  so  that  now  there  is  lately  printed  on  it  his 
name  only,  Hugh  Peters ;  by  it  is  a  picture  of  Oliver 
Cromwell  of  the  same  size  with  his  name  'Oliver  Cromwell,' 
thereon  instead  of  the  usurper  Oliver  Cromwell  which  Dr 
Plumptre  had  erased,  the  Master  supposed  the  two  original 
inscriptions  secured  them  a  place  in  his  gallery  at  the 
restoration."! 

The  only  portrait  of  Peter  now  known  to  exist  is  owned 
by  C.  E.  Treffry,  Esquire,  and  is  in  his  dining  room  at 
Place,  in  Fowey,  Cornwall, — his  mother's  home. 

List  of  the  writings  of  Hugh  Peter :  J 

1  Advice   of  that   Worthy  Commander  Sir  Edward 
Harwood  upon  occasion  of  the  French  King's  Preparation  ; 
also  a  Relation  of  his  Life  and  Death,  4to,  1642. 

2  A  True  Relation  of  the  passages  of  God's  Providence 
in  a  voyage  to  Ireland.   .   .  wherein  every  day's  work  is  set 
down  faithfully  by  H.  P.  an  eye  witness  thereof,  4to,  1642. 

3  Preface  to    Richard  Mather's  Church  Government 
and  Church  Covenant  discussed,  4to,  1643. 

4  Mr.  Peters'  Report  from  the  Armies,  26  July,  1645, 
with  a  list  of  the  chiefest  officers  taken  at  Bridgewater, 
&c,  4to,  1645. 

5  Mr.  Peters' Report  from  Bristol,  4to,  1645. 

6  The  Full  and  Last  Relation  of  all  Things  concerning 
Basing  House,  with  divers  other  passages  reported  to  Mr. 
Speaker  and  divers  Members  in  the  House.     By  Mr.  Peter 
who  came  from  Lieut.  Gen.  Cromwell,  4to,  1645. 

7  Master  Peter's  message  from  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax 
with  the  Narration  of  the  taking  of  Dartmouth. 

*  Error;  he  was  of  Trinity. 

t  Burton's  Diary  ("  by  Mr  Cole  in  his  MSB.  XXIV.  138"  says  Burton)  Vol.  T, 
p.  244.  (Carlyle  asserts  that  there  was  no  such  person  as  Thomas  Burton  and 
that  the  Diary  was  written  by  Nathaniel  Bacon.') 

t  Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 


88  HUGH    PETER  : 

8  Master  Peter's  message  from  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax 
with  the  whole  state  of  the  west  and  all  the  particulars 
about  the  disbanding  of  the  Prince  and  Sir  Ralph  Hopton's 
Army,  4to,  1646. 

9  God's  Doings  and  Man's  Duty,  a  sermon  preached 
April  2,  1646,  4to. 

10  Mr.   Peters'   Last  Report  of  the   English  Wars, 
occasioned  by  the  Importunity  of  a  Friend   pressing  an 
answer  to  seven  Queries,  4to,  1646. 

11  Several  Propositions  presented  to  the  House  of 
Commons   by  Mr.    Peters    concerning  the   Presbyterian 
Ministers  of  this  Kingdom  with  the  discovery  of  two  great 
Plots  against  the  Parliament  of  England,  4to,  1646. 

12  A  Word  for  the  Army  and  Two  Words  for  the 
Kingdom,  to  clear  the  one  and  cure  the  other,  forced  in 
much  Plainness  and  Brevity,  from  their  faithful  Servant, 
Hugh  Peters,  London,  1647. 

13  Good  Work  for  a  Good  Magistrate,  or  a  Short  Cut 
to  Great  Quiet,  by  plain,  honest,  homely  English  hints 
given   from    Scripture,   Reason  and  Experience  for  the 
regulating  of  most  cases  in  this  Commonwealth,  by  H.  P. , 
12mo,  1651. 

14  A    Preface    to    "The   Little   Horn's   Doom   and 
Downfall  "  by  Mary  Cary,  12mo,  1651. 

15  Latin  Verses  on  Henry  Ireton,  1650. 

16  Dedication  to  Operum  Gulielmi  Amesii  volumen 
primum.     12mo,  Amsterdam,  1658. 

17  A  Dying  Father's  Last  Legacy  to  an  Onely  Child, 
or  Mr  Hugh  Peters'  Advice  to  his  Daughter,  written  by 
his  own  Hand  during  his  late  Imprisonment  in  the  Tower 
of  London,  And  given  her  a   little    before  his   Death ; 
London,  Printed  for  G.  Calvert,  and  T.  Brewster,  and 
are  sold   at   the  Black-Spread  Eagle,  and  at  the  Three 
Bibles,  at  the  West-End  of  Pauls,  1660.     12mo. 

18  The     Case     of    Mr     Hugh     Peters     impartially 
Communicated  to  the  View  and  Censure  of  the  Whole 
World,  written  by  his  own  Hand,  4to.     1660. 

19  A   sermon   by  Hugh   Peters  preached  before  his 
death  as  it  was  taken  by  a  faithful  hand,  and  now  published 
for  public  information,  London,  printed  by  John  Best, 
4to.     1660. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  89 

Thirty-five  of  his  letters  are  to  be  found  in  the  Winthrop 
Papers  in  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,*  and 
there  is  an  autograph  letter  of  his  in  the  Massachusetts 
Archives,  f  which  has  been  published  in  the  Hutchinson 
Papers,  page  59. 

His  fun  and  wit  shine  in  many  of  them  ;  take  this  one 
written  to  John  Winthrop  in  1636  : 

"  A  little  newes  I  had  out  of  a  late  letter  come  to  hand 
out  of  England  which  you  may  tell  the  Governour  from 
me  to  make  him  laugh.  J  At  Bristow  in  one  church 
whilst  they  were  preaching  a  great  Bull  broke  into  the 
churchyard  and  a  company  of  boyes  followed  him  with 
squibs ;  the  people  within  were  taken  up  before  with 
thoughts  that  the  papists  that  day  would  rise,  and  had 
warding  all  the  Country  over ;  the  Bull  and  the  squibs  so 
wrought  vpon  their  melancholy  braynes,  that  one  cryes 
out,  if  I  perish,  I'll  perish  here,  another  swounds  away, 
another  they  are  come,  they  are  come." 

In  another  letter :  "  Mr  Eaton  very  ill  of  the  Skurvey. 
Aneelepy.  .  .  .  Bend  all  hath  bury  ed  his  wife  ;  another 
eele  Py."  Two  tragedies  in  two  lines. 

Dedication  of  God's  Doings  and  Man's  Duty  "  to  the 
Honourable,  the  Lord  Mayor,  the  Aldermen,  and  the 
Common  Counsell  of  this  famous  City  of  London.  .  .  . 
That  you  are  made  wealthy  for  others,  not  yourselves 
alone,  That  you  would  not  make  Opinions  your  Interest 
which  are  changeable,  but  Godlinesse  and  Faithfulnesse, 
That  you  would  rather  punish  known  sins,  shew  mercy  on 
the  poor,  a  known  duty,  maintain  Civil  peace,  look  to 
your  City-privileges  rather  then  lose  yourselves  in  doubtful 
questions."  .  .  .§  From  the  sermon  : 

"  I  am  bold  to  say  you  have  heard  more  of  Christ  within 
these  last  four  years,  then  you  have  for  forty  before.  .  .  . 
Truly  I  know  nothing  so  heavie  but  love  can  lift,  nothing 
so  high  but  it  can  reach,  nothing  so  deep  but  it  can  fathom. 
...  It  will  be  love  to  the  Lord,  if  we  love  him  in  his 
dispensations  when  they  have  their  viscissitudes  ;  to  love 

*  Peters'  letters  quoted  In  this  article  are  nearly  all  from  the  Winthrop  Papers, 
Mass.  Hist.  Coll. 

t  Vol.  240,  page  33.  t  Vane. 

§  The  letter  of  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  preylouely  quoted,  appears  also  here  as  a 
dedication. 


90  HUGH    PETER : 

him  smiling,  and  love  him  frowning  too ;  to  love  him, 
sitting  upon  his  knee,  and  love  him  under  his  lash  too.  . 
.  .  Tell  your  little  ones  this  night  the  story  of  45,  the 
towns  taken,  the  fields  fought,  tell  them  of  neer  30000 
prisoners  taken  this  last  year,  500  pieces  of  ordinance,  tell 
them  of  the  little  losse  on  our  side,  be  sure  to  let  them 
know  it  was  for  the  liberty  of  the  English  subjects  you 
fought,  charge  them  to  preserve  the  liberties  that  cost 
you  so  dear,  but  especially  the  liberties  purchased  by  the 
blood  of  Christ,  and  above  all  let  them  knowthatthe  God 
of  heaven  is  the  God  of  England,  and  hath  done  all,  but 
his  name,  and  his  Sons  name,  who  can  tell  us?  I  wish 
we  knew  God  better,  that  we  might  love  him  more.  .  .  . 

"  Lastly,  since  feasts  are  seldome  without  beggars,  give 
me  leave  to  be  the  first :  and  if  we  had  not  been  over-bold 
in  detaining  you  already,  I  should  have  been  large,  even 
from  my  soule  to  beg  help  from  this  most  Honourable 
Assembly  in  foure  particulars :  1.  I  beg  for  Soules.  2. 
For  Bodies.  3.  Estates.  4.  Names. 

"  And  for  the  first,  I  present  you  here  the  tears  and  cries 
of  many  thousands,  in  the  countries  we  have  conquered, 
who  poor  souls  cry  like  prisoners  at  the  Grate,  Bread, 
bread,  for  the  Lords  sake  bread ;  all  you  that  passe  by 
take  Pitty,  pitty  of  us,  we  have  lived  upon  husks  time  out 
of  minde.  ...  I  need  not  tell  this  Assembly,  that  every 
where  the  greater  party  is  the  Orthodox,  and  the  lesser 
the  Hereticks.  .  .  .  Secondly,  I  have  something  to  beg 
for  the  bodies  of  men  :  you  have  had  strong  cries  from 
widowes  and  fatherlesse  children,  whose  husbands  and 
fathers  have  spent  their  heart-blood  in  this  service  ;  you 
have  many  maimed  men,  which  puts  me  in  mindo  of  an 
expedient  for  them,  if  improved:  I  mean  that  famous 
royall  Foundation  of  the  Charter-House,  or  Suttons 
Hospital,  they  say  worth  5  or  6000  1.  per  annum.  .  .  . 
The  streets  also  are  swarming  with  poor,  which  I  refer  to 
the  Senators  of  this  Citie,  that  is  glorious  many  ways, 
why  should  it  be  so  beggarly  in  the  matter  of  beggars  ? 
.  .  .  Yet  let  not  my  request  die.  I  have  lived  in  a  Country, 
\vhere  in  seven  years  I  never  saw  a  beggar,  nor  heard  an 
oath,  nor  lookt  upon  a  drunkard.  .  .  . 

"The  third  boon  I  beg  is  for  mens  estates  .   .   .  can 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  91 

there  not  yet  be  found  a  shorter  way  to  further  justice  ? 
must  that  badge  of  conquest  still  lye  upon  us,  the  Lawes 
I  mean  in  French?  Can  there  not  an  expedient  be  found 
out  in  plain  English,  whereby  every  one  may  soon  come 
to  his  own  ?  May  there  not  be  two  or  three  friend-makers 
set  up  in  every  Parish,  without  whose  labour  and  leave 
none  should  implead  another?  There  is  one  evill  I  have 
seen  under  the  Sun,  a  poor  man  kept  in  prison  for  debt, 
whereby  his  spirit  is  debauch  t,  and  he  utterly  disabled  to 
pay:  It  is  not  so  abroad.  Fourthly  and  lastly;  I  beg 
something  for  mens  names."* 

"  The  only  way  I  know  to  reach  Gods  mind  in  worship 
will  be  to  love  the  truth  for  its  owne  sake,  yea,  to  love  it 
when  it  shall  condemn  our  practices  and  persons  also."f 

"  I  do  conceive  that  the  sword  will  not  be  sheathed, 
which  is  now  drawn,  till  church  work  be  better  known. 
Presbytery  and  Independency  are  the  ways  of  worship  and 
church  fellowship  now  looked  at,  since  we  hope  Episcopacy 
is  coffined  out  and  will  be  buried  without  expectation  of 
another  resurrection.  We  need  not  tell  the  wise  whence 
the  Tyranny  grew  in  Churches  and  how  Commonwealths 
got  their  pressure  in  the  like  kind."f 

"  Yea,  though  my  share  lies  so  much  in  them  [slanderous 
pamphlets]  that  it  would  be  costly  to  purchase  clean 
handkerchiefs  to  wipe  off  every  spattering  on  my  face, 
and  I  could  as  shortly  and  more  truly  answer  all  as  he  did 
Bellarmine,  with  'Thou  lyest.'  " 

"Quick  justice  makes  quiet  commonwealths." 

"  Good  men  not  good  laws  must  save  Kingdoms. "J 

His  "Good  Work  for  a  Good  Magistrate,"  summed  up 
his  scheme  of  reform,  proposing  among  other  things,  a 
register  of  land  titles  and  wills,  and  suggesting  that  when 
that  was  established  the  old  records  of  the  Tower,  being 
useless  monuments  of  tyranny,  might  be  burned.  He 
also  proposed  setting  up  a  bank  in  London  like  that  of 
Amsterdam,  the  establishment  of  public  warehouses  and 
docks,  the  institution  of  a  better  system  for  guarding 
against  fires  in  London,  and  the  adoption  of  the  Dutch 
system  of  providing  for  the  poor  throughout  the  country. 

He  further  says  that  lawyers  would  find  more  real  law 

*  God's  Doings  and  Men's  Duty. 

t  Preface  to  Church  Government  and  Church  Covenant. 

t  A  Word  for  the  Army  and  two  Words  for  the  Kingdom 


92  HUGH    PETER : 

and    justice   in   the    ten   commandments    than   in   their 
"obsolete  precedents." 

"  The  waies  and  means  ordained  of  God,  to  bring  anie 
nation  to  and  preserve  them  in  as  happie  a  condition  as 
the  world  can  afford  are  by 

I  True   Religion    maintained    and    advanced  by    the 
magistrate  and  walked  in  by  the  people  ; 

II  True    inercie    towards    the    poor    practiced    and 
advanced  both  by  Magistrate  and  People ; 

III  True   Justice   and   Righteousness   amongst   both 
Magistrate  and  People  towards  other  Nations."* 

His  "Last  Legacy  "  is  full  of  sense,  religion,  beauty, 
pathos  and  poetry  and  might  be  quoted  from  end  to  end 
with  advantage. 

That  he  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  best  of  his  own 
time  and  profession  is  evident  from  the  constant  use 
Fairfax  and  Cromwell  made  of  him,  and  from  letters  of 
such  men  as  John  Eliot,  Winthrop,  Davenport,  etc.  The 
latter  pays  him  the  following  tribute  in  a  letter  dated 
July,  1637. 

"  Deare  and  honoured  in  the  Lord — to  whom  (for  Christ 
and  in  Him)  I  owe  not  onely  any  service  but  my  self  also," 
etc. 

It  is  fitting  to  end  with  a  characteristic  quotation  from 
the  Dictionary  of  National  Biography  which,  together 
with  Gardiner's  "Great  Civil  War,"  presents  the  only 
adequate  or  definite  view  of  Peter's  life  or  character  that 
I  have  found  in  print : — 

"His  arguments  were  rather  those  of  social  reformer 
than  a  divine.  He  regarded  doctrinal  differences  as  of 
slight  importance,  suggested  that  if  the  ministers  ot 
different  views  dined  oftener  together  their  mutual 
animosities  would  disappear,  and  that  if  the  state  would 
punish  every  one  who  spoke  against  either  presbytery  or 
independency,  till  they  could  define  the  terms  aright,  a 
lasting  religious  peace  might  be  established." 

*  Good  Work  for  a  Good  Magistrate. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  93 

EXTRACTS    FROM    "THE    LA8T    LEGACY." 

"  And  know  this,  That  the  necessity  of  a  Christ  (which 
the  understanding  discovers)  will  set  the  Will  on  work  to 
all  duty,  and  (the  worth  in  Christ  it  makes  manifest)  will 
make  the  Will  delight ;  unless  these  two  Faculties  be  thus 
wrought  upon  by  Word  and  the  Spirit,  you  will  be  at  a 
constant  loss,  and  all  the  miscarriages  in  Religion  have 
the  Ignorance  of  this  for  the  Fountain.  .  .  .  For  as  I 
profess  myself  Orthodox  in  all  Points  of  Religion  ...  so 
I  have  desired  in  nothing  to  be  more  Clear  than  in  the 
Two  Doctrines  aforesaid ;  .  .  .  this  hath  been  my 
Experience,  That  the  Preaching  of  these  Truths  have  been 
my  greatest  Advantage,  and  of  much  benefit  to  Others ; 
though  in  this  I  have  enough  to  bewail  also. 

"  To  this  purpose,  Hear  the  best  Men,  Keep  the  best 
Company,  Read  the  best  Books.  .  .  .  This  one  Book  (the 
Bible)  well  read,  will  answer  any  Question,  or  Case,  and 
you  will  finde  Solomons  Proverbs  the  best  Politicks,  and 
Christ  crucified  the  best  Divinity.  .  .  .  How  few  pray  ! 
How  many  say  words?  Oh,  how  many  say  their  Prayers 
backwards,  call  him  Father,  who  is  not  their  Father, 
would  not  have  his  Name  hallowed,  nor  his  Kingdom 
Come?  .  .  .  You  cannot  be  so  bad  as  he  (God)  is  good. 
.  .  .  It  is  hard  to  Watch,  most  are  very  Drowsie ;  The 
Disciples  themselves  could  not  Watch  one  Hour.  .  .  . 
The  Lord  is  forced  to  keep  us  waking  by  Aflliction,  as  the 
Thorn  to  the  singing  Bird.  .  .  .  Do  not  grieve  Conscience 
twice,  it  must  be  your  best  friend,  yea  when  friends,  and 
world,  and  all  shall  leave  you  to  solitariness.  If  it  whimper 
a  little,  do  not  make  it  roar  out ;  and  yet  do  not  stille  it, 
but  attend  it,  and  carry  it  up  to  Mount  Calvary  for  peace. 
Remember,  good  Conscience  and  Sin  cannot  live  together  ; 
Let  but  this  Bird  sing  sweetly  within,  and  let  Heaven 
and  Earth  come  together,  thou  shalt  be  safe  (my  poor 
child). 

"  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  must  suffer  Violence  ;  Violent 
Faith,  Love,  Prayer,  Must  storm  it.  .  .  you  may  easier 
make  bares  to  the  Sea,  and  order  the  Influences  of  Heaven 
than  call  back  yesterday.  .  .  . 

"  This  Herb  [Content]  grows  in  very  few  gardens,  But 
Oh  that  you  might  be  truly  content !  You  will  find  a  But 


94  HUGH    PETER  : 

upon  all  your  Comforts ;  and  therefore  you  cannot  be 
contented.  .  .  . 

"  Riches  have  Eagles  wings,  and  Beauty  hut  skin  deep  ; 
Honour  in  another's  keeping ;  Friends  and  all,  are  but 
waking  dreams.  .  .  . 

"  I  commend  unto  you  meekness  of  spirit ;  be  loving  to 
all ;  envy  none.  You  know  what  a  Promise  the  Meek 
have,  .  .  Meekness  carries  many  good  things  with  it,  as 
Love,  Piety,  Patience,  etc.  .  .  .  Meekness  will  make 
smooth  all  your  waye.s,  disappoint  Enemies  of  the 
advantage  they  may  take  against  you  ;  And  your  love  will 
not  only  cover  many  sins,  but  help  many  out  of  them.  .  .  . 

"  Oh  !  how  can  we  lift  wrathful  hands  to  Heaven.  They 
say  Anger  is  the  Boyling  of  the  Blood  about  the  Heart ;  I 
am  sure  it  cools  the  Heart  in  Spirituals ;  God  took  this 
to  himself  when  he  discovered  his  Name  to  Moses ;  a 
pitiful,  pardoning,  long  suffering  God.  .  .  .*  The  Lord 
make  you  Meek  from  the  true  Root  (my  dear  Child),  .  .  . 

"Thoughts  are  not  free,  nor  words  wind,  they  will  judge 
us  one  day.  .  .  . 

"  Read  and  know,  That  Whilest  you  look  too  much 
into  others  Gardens,  you  will  neglect  your  own.  .  .  . 

"If  your  Fancy  be  not  well-fed,  your  Thoughts  (like 
Millstones)  will  grinde  themselves.  Spirits  rais'd  and  not 
imploy'd,  will  torment  the  Witch  that  rais'd  them.  .  .  . 
Be  content  to  be  a  Shrub,  Cedars  will  shake  ;  and  never 
desire  to  be  near  Greatness,  Honour  often  dies  grinning 
and  ghastly,  our  business  must  be  our  own,  as  well  as  our 
crosse.  To  meddle  with  other  mens  work  will  be  thankless, 
as  to  take  other  mens  Physick  will  be  useless,  if  not 
dangerous.  .  .  .  The  Busie-body  is  but  a  Pedlar  to  carry 
up  and  down,  and  vend  the  Devils  Wares.  How  few  lose 
anything  by  quietness,  and  doing  their  own  work?  .  .  . 
David  got  his  great  wound  upon  this  neglect,  and  Peter 
his,  by  warming  his  hands  when  he  should  have  been 
breaking  his  heart  in  secret. 

"  Oh  keep  home,  keep  home  ;  I  speak  experience  to  you, 
who  never  found  good  hour  but  in  mine  own  work.  .  .  . 
Be  always  ready  to  say,  I  am  where  the  Lord  would  have 
me  to  be.  .  .  Sew  up  your  mouth, but  let  it  be  with  Honestie  ; 

*  The  Italics  are  the  compiler's;  remarkable  words  for  those  days! 


95 

not  Policie.  As  you  never  hurt  yourself  by  speaking 
little,  so  will  you  never  gain  anything  by  telling  a  Lie. 

"  Much  of  Wit  must  be  pared  off  before  it  will  be  useful. 

"  You  shall  never  have  comfort  in  suffering  for  Folly. 

"  There  are  two  very  good  Turns  in  Mans  Life  ;  the  one 
is  a  lawful  Calling  ;  the  other  is  marriage  :  and  miscarriages 
in  either  are  almost  irrecoverable.  .  .  .  This  Conjugateness 
(like  a  yoke)  must  still  be  lined  with  more  Love  to  make 
the  draught  easie.  .  .  . 

"They  [husband  and  wife]  need  to  pray  out,  not  quarrel 
out  their  first  bubblings  ;  They  need  at  first  to  dwell  much 
in  their  own  duties,  before  they  step  into  each  others.  .  .  . 

"  Many  dying  men  speak  much  about  the  Vanity  of  the 
World.  But  truly,  as  I  would  not  die  in  a  pet,  so  I  would 
not  quarrel  with  or  leave  the  World,  because  I  could  be 
no  greater  in  it,  but  because  I  not  do,  nor  be  better  in  it 
and  that  God  is  pleased  I  should  leave  it  for  a  better. 

"And  whilst  I  am  in  the  World,  and  advising  about  it, 
there  is  a  great  Raritie  in  the  World,  if  you  could  reach 
it,  and  that  is  a  Friend,  which  is  a  Commoditie  so  very 
scarce,  that  it  will  be  your  wisdom  to  look  upon  a  Friend 
this  day,  as  likely  to  be  an  Enemy  to-uiorrow.  .  .  .  Fair 
Dove-coats  have  most  pigeons ;  Lost  Estates  have  no 
Friends. 

"A  Friend  must  have  three  qualifications  ;  he  must  have 
the  art  and  skill  of  a  Friend,  few  know  it ;  must  have  the 
bowels  and  mercie  of  a  Friend,  which  most  want ;  and 
lastly  must  have  Faithfulness,  the  great  ingredient.  .  .  . 

"  Though  it  be  not  safe  to  dig  at  Foundations  often,  lest 
we  shake  the  Building ;  so  our  great  care  is  to  have  sound 
Foundations  to  build  upon.  .  .  . 

"  Be  willing  to  want  what  God  is  not  willing  to  give.  .  .  . 

"  Whoever  fears  to  sin,  never  sins  by  fear.   .   .   . 

"  In  the  night  the  waking  Child  in  the  cradle  is  quiet  at 
the  Nurses  coming  to  it,  because  there  is  more  of  comfort 
in  the  Nurse  than  fear  in  the  Dark.  .  .  .  And  then  be 
perswaded  to  set  a  right  value  on  all  earthly,  perishing, 
dying  things;  do  not  call  a  Pebble  a  Pearl.  .  .  . 

"  For  a  little  needle  will  draw  a  long  tail  of  Thread 
after  it.  ... 

"My  Child,  to  believe  things  incredible,  to  hope  things 
delayed,  and  to  love  God  when  he  seems  angry,  Are 
Luthers  wonders  and  mine,  nud  thine. 

"A  well  led  life  is  the  best  Monument." 


96  HUGH   PETER : 

"MY   WISHES. 

I  Wish  your  Lamp  and  Vessel  full  of  Oyl, 

Like  the  Wise  Virgins  (Which  all  Fools  neglect) 

And  the  Rich  Pearl,  for  which  the  Merchants  toyl, 

Yea,  bow  to  purchase  are  so  circumspect : 

I  wish  you  that  White  Stone  with  the  New  Name, 

Which  none  can  reade  but  who  possess  the  same. 

I  wish  you  neither  Poverty,  nor  Riches, 
But  Godlinesse,  so  gainful,  with  Content, 
No  painted  Pomp,  nor  Glory  that  bewitches  : 
A  blamelesse  life  is  the  best  Monument : 
And  such  a  Soul  that  soars  above  the  Skie, 
Well  pleas'd  to  live,  but  better  pleas'd  to  die. 

I  wish  you  such  a  Heart  as  Mary  had, 
Minding  the  main,  opeu'd  as  Lydea's  was ; 
A  Hand  like  Dorcas,  who  the  Naked  clad; 
Feet  like  Joanna's  passing  to  Christ  apace. 
And  above  all.  to  live  your  self e  to  see 
Marry ed  to  Him,  who  must  your  Saviour  be." 

"  Whoever  would  live  long  and  Blessedly,  let  him  observe 
these  Following  Rules,  by  which  he  shall  attain  to  that 
which  he  desireth" 

Thoughts  Divine,  Awful,  Godly 

Talk  Little,  Honest,  True 

Works  Profitable,    Holy,  Charitable 

Manners  Grave,  Courteous,  Cheerful 

Dyet  Temperate,  Convenient,Frugal 
"  Let  thy    Apparil         Be  Sober,  Neat,  Comely, 

Will  Comfiant,  Obedient,   Ready 

Sleep  Moderate,  quiet,  Seasonable 

Prayers  Short,  Devout,  Often,  Fervent 

Recreation  Lawful,  Brief,  Seldom 

Memory  Of  Death,  Punishment,  Glory" 

These  fragments  of  a  useful  and  active  life  can  be  no 
more  fittingly  ended  than  by  quoting  the  preface  to  the 
Last  Legacy  written  by  another  hand. 

"  To  the  Impartial  Reader.  Be  not  Discouraged  from 
reading  this  small  Treatise,  because  of  the  unhappy  End 
of  a  Wearisome  pilgrimage,  which  the  Author  met  with 
in  this  world  ;  If  we  get  a  fall  in  a  journey,  or  meet  with 
a  great  showre  of  rain  so  it  be  in  the  close  of  the  day 
when  we  are  near  our  Inn,  where  we  meet  with 
accomodation  and  refreshment,  we  are  the  less  troubl'd ; 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  97 

Yet  such  was  his  case  (who  for  many  years  was  very 
Instrumental  in  the  Church  of  God,  and  a  means  of 
bringing  many  Souls  to  Christ ;  and  for  the  Good  of 
others  came  into  this  Kingdom  when  it  was  in  a  flame  of 
Civil  War,  which  hath  signd*  him  also,  that  he  might 
escape  everlasting  flames)  in  this  Discourse  be  bewails  the 
vanity  of  his  own  Spirit ;  and  we  will  not  Excuse  him ; 
he  finds  himself  too  busie  in  Aliena  Republica  and  we  will 
not  justifie  him  ;  But  if  that  precious  Gold  should  be  cast 
away  because  there  is  some  Dross,  or  the  Children  of  God 
cast  out  of  the  Family  for  every  fault  though  heinous, 
we  should  condemn  the  Generation  of  the  just:  You  will 
tind  in  the  Legacy  to  his  only  Child  that  he  had  a  Root  of 
Grace,  and  that  the  Fountain  was  clear  from  which  ran  so 
savoury  a  stream,  And  that  at  the  last  when  he  had  no 
hope  to  save  a  frail  Body,  yet  he  minded  his  own  and 
others  Souls,  And  that  he  was  a  Master  Workman  in  that 
Mysterie,  wherein  he  had  laboured  successfully  so  many 
years,  And  we  hope  that  notwithstanding  the  prejudicacie 
of  some  against  him  and  the  words  of  others,  and  his  sad 
shameface  Catastrophy,  we  may  charitably  judge  that  God 
hath  wiped  all  Tears  from  his  Eyes,  that  he  is  entered 
into  Rest,  his  Works  following  him ;  and  that  he  is  made 
perfect  by  his  great  Suffering ;  And  with  the  same  to  you, 
except  these  Bonds.  G.  F.  N.  B. 

*  Singed. 


98  HUGH   PETER : 

LIST    OF   WORKS    CONSULTED. 

Anglia  Sediviva,  England's  Recovery.  The  History  of  the  Motions, 
Actions  and  Successes  of  the  Army  under  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  by 
Joshua  Sprigge,  M.A.  London,  1647. 

Annals  of  Salem,  by  J.  B.  Felt,  2  vols.     Salem,  1845. 

A  Dying  Father's  Last  Legacy  to  an  Onely  Child,  or  Mr.  Hugh  Peters 
Advice  to  his  Daughter,  written  by  his  own  Hand,  during  his  late 
Imprisonment  in  the  Tower  of  London :  And  given  her  a  little 
before  his  Death.  London,  Printed  for  G.  Calvert  and  T.  Brewster, 
and  are  to  be  sold  at  the  Black-spread  Eagle,  and  at  the  Three 
Bibles,  at  the  West-End  of  Pauls,  1660. 

Bibliotheca  Cornubiensis,  a  Catalogue  of  the  writings,  both  Manuscript 
and  Printed,  of  Cornislnnen  and  of  works  relating  to  the  county 
of  Cornwall,  by  George  Clement  Boase,  and  William  Prideaux 
Courtney.  London,  1882. 

Chronological  Observations  of  America,  by  John  Josselyn,  Gent. 
(Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,  3d  series,  Vol.  3,  page  355) . 
London,  1674. 

Complete  Collection  of  State  Trials,  from  the  earliest  period.  William 
Cobbett.  London,  1792. 

A  Collection  of  the  State  Papers  of  John  Thurloe,  Esq.,  Secretary,  first 
to  the  Council  of  State,  and  afterwards  to  the  Two  Protectors, 
Oliver  and  Richard  Cromwell ;  7  vols.  London,  1742. 

Chronicles  of  the  First  Planters  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  by 
Alexander  Young.  Boston,  1846. 

Collections  of  Scarce  and  Valuable  Tracts  of  the  late  Lord  Somers. 
London,  1812. 

The  Case  of  Mr.  Hugh  Peters,  Impartially  Communicated  to  the  View 
and  Censure  of  the  Whole  World:  Written  by  his  own  hand. 
London  [1660], 

Oliver  Cromwell's  Speeches  and  Letters;  by  Thomas  Carlyle;  4  vols. 
New  York,  1897. 

Preface  to  Church  Government  and  Church  Covenant,  by  Hugh 
Peters.  London,  1643.  (The  article  itself  is  by  Richard  Mather.) 

Dictionary  of  National  Biography,  edited  by  Sidney  Lee.  New  York, 
1896. 

TheDiary  and  Memoirs  of  John  Evelyn,  Esq.,F.R.S.  /edited  by  William 
Bray,  Esq.  London  and  New  York.  (Preface  of  1815  edition.) 

Diary  of  Thomas  Burton,  Member  in  the  Parliaments  of  Oliver  and 
Richard  Cromwell  from  1656-1659,  now  first  published  from  the 
Original  Autograph  Manuscript  with  an  Introduction  containing 
an  Account  of  the  Parliament  of  1654,  from  the  Journal  of  Guibon 
Goddard,  Esq.,  F.  K.S. ;  also  now  first  printed.  Edited  and 
Illustrated  with  Notes  Historical  and  Biographical  by  John  Towill 
t;  4  vols.  London,  1818. 


PREACHER,    PATRIOT,    PHILANTHROPIST.  99 

The  Ecclesiastical  History  of  New  England,  comprising  not  only 
religious  but  also  moral,  and  other  relations,  by  Joseph  B.  Felt; 
2  TOls.  Boston,  1855. 

God's  Doings  and  Man's  Duty,  Opened  in  a  Sermon  preached  before 
both  Houses  of  Parliament,  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  the 
City  of  London,  and  the  Assembly  of  Divines;  at  the  last 
Thanksgiving  Day,  April  2.  For  the  recovering  of  the  West,  and 
disbanding  5000  of  the  King's  Horse,  &c.  By  Hugh  Peters, 
Preacher  of  the  Gospel.  London.  1646. 

History  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  from  the  first  Settlement 
thereof  in  1628  until  its  Incorporation  with  the  Colony  of  Plimouth 
Province  of  Main,  &c.,  by  Mr.  Hutchinson.  London,  1765. 

Historical  and  Critical  Account  of  Hugh  Peter  after  the  manner  of  Mr. 
Bayle  (by  Dr.  William  Harris),  published  anonymously.  London, 
1751. 

The  History  of  Massachusetts,  by  John  Stetson  Barry;  3  vols.  Boston, 
1855. 

The  History  of  the  Rebellion  and  Civil  War  in  England,  together  with 
an  Historical  View  of  the  Affairs  of  Ireland,  by  Edward,  Earl  of 
Clarendon;  7  vols.  London,  1849. 

History  of  New  England  from  1630  to  1649,  by  John  Winthrop,  Esq., 
first  Governor  of  the  Colony  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  from  his 
original  Manuscripts  with  notes  by  James  Savage;  2  vols.  Boston, 
1826.  (Also  called  Winthrop 's  Journal.) 

History  of  the  Great  Civil  War,  1642-1649,  by  Samuel  Rawson 
Gardiner,  M.A.,  LL.D. ;  3  vols.  London,  1886. 

Historical  Collections  of  Private  Passages  of  State,  Weighty  Matters 
in  Law,  Remarkable  Proceedings  in  Five  Parliaments,  beginning 
the  Sixteenth  Year  of  King  James,  Anno  1618.  Digested  in  order 
of  Time  and  now  published  by  John  Rushworth  of  Lincolns  Inn, 
Esq.  London,  1659. 

The  Harleian  Miscellany ;  10  vols.    London,  1810. 

Life  of  Roger  Williams,  by  John  Knowles. 

Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Historical  Collections. 

Memoir  of  Hugh  Peters,  by  Joseph  B.  Felt  (New  England  Historical 
and  Genealogical  Register,  Vol.  v).  Boston,  1851. 

Memorials  of  the  Civil  War,  comprising  the  Correspondence  of  the 
Fairfax  family  with  the  most  distinguished  personages  engaged 
in  that  memorable  contest,  now  first  published  from  the  original 
Manuscripts;  edited  by  Robert  Bell;  2  vols.  London,  1849. 

Memoirs  of  Edmund  Ludloio,  with  a  Collection  of  Original  Papers,  and 
the  Case  of  King  Charles  the  First.  London,  1771. 

Memorials  of  the  English  affairs ;  or  an  Historical  account  of  what 
passed  from  the  Beginning  of  the  Reign  of  King  Charles  the  First, 
to  King  Charles  the  Second,  His  Happy  Restauration,  containing 

HIST.   COLL.   VOL.   XXXVffl  10 


100  HUGH  PETER  : 

the  Publick  Transactions,  Civil  and  Military  together  with  The 
Private  Consultations  and  Secrets  of  the  Cabinet.  By  Mr 
Whitelock.  London,  1732. 

Memoirs  of  Samuel  Pepys  Esq.,  F.R.S.,  comprising  his  Diary  from 
1659  to  1669  and  Selections  from  his  Private  Correspondence; 
edited  by  Richard  Lord  Braybrooke.  London,  1825. 

Magnalia  Christi  Americana,  or  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  New 
England  from  its  first  planting  in  the  year  1620  into  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1698 ;  in  7  books  by  Cotton  Mather,  Pastor  of  the  North 
Church  in  Boston,  New  England.  London,  1702. 

The  Publications  of  the  Harleian  Society,  established  1869.    London. 

Plain  Dealing,  or  Newes  from  New  England,  by  Thomas  Lechford, 
Clement's  Inne,  January  17,  1641  (Massachusetts  Historical 
Collections,  3d  series,  Vol.  3,  page  54).  London,  1642. 

Peters'  Pattern,  or  The  Perfect  Path  to  Worldly  Happiness.  As  it  was 
delivered  in  a  Funeral  Sermon  preached  at  the  interrment  of  Mr. 
Peters  lately  deceased.  London,  Printed  in  the  Year  1659  (a 
burlesque) . 

The  Parochial  History  of  Cornwall,  by  Davies  Gilbert,  1838. 

Roger  Williams,  the  pioneer  of  religious  liberty,  by  Oscar  S.  Straus. 
New  York,  1894. 

Left.  Lion  Gardener,  Relation  of  the  Pequot  Warres  (Massachusetts 
Historical  Collections,  3d  series,  Vol.  3,  page  131). 

Records  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the  Massachusetts  Say  in  New 
England,  printed  by  order  of  the  Legislature  edited  by  Nathaniel 
Shurtleff;  5  vols.  Boston,  1854. 

The  Tryall  and  Condemnation  of  Mr.  John  Cooke,  Sollicitor  to  the  late 
High-court  of  Injustice,  and  Mr  Hugh  Peters,  that  carnall  Prophet. 
For  their  sever  all  High-treasons,  &c.  At  the  Sessions-house  in 
the  Old-baily,  on  Saturday  the  13.  of  October,  1660.  Together 
with,  Their  severall  Pleas  and  the  Answers  thereunto.  London, 
Printed  for  John  Stafford  and  Edward  Thomas,  1660. 

The  Tales  and  Jests  of  Mr  Hugh  Peters,  completed  into  one  volume. 
Published  by  one  that  hath  formerly  been  conversant  with  the 
Author  in  his  Lifetime,  and  Dedicated  to  Mr  John  Goodwin  and 
Mr  Philip  Nye.  Together  with  his  Sentence  and  the  Manner  of 
his  Execution :  To  which  is  prefixed  a  Short  Account  of  his  Life. 
London,  1660.  Reprinted,  London,  1807. 

This  reprint  contains  the  well-known  frontispiece  of  Peter  in 
the  pulpit  with  three  scrolls  issuing  from  his  mouth  and  bearing 
the  words:  Blasphemy,  Rebellion,  Heresie;  also  an  hour-glass 
in  his  hand.  A  side  beam  of  light  (or  so  it  seems)  is  inscribed  : 
"  I  know  you  are  all  good  fellows,  stay  and  take  the  other  glass." 

A  Word  for  the  Army  and  two  Words  for  the  Kingdom.  To  clear  the 
one  and  cure  the  other.  Forced  in  much  Plainness  and  Brevity 


PREACHER,  PATRIOT,  PHILANTHROPIST.  101 

from  their  faithful  Serrant  Hugh  Peters.  London,  1647  (Harleian 
Miscellany;  Vol.  v,  page 607). 

Wonder-  Working  Providence  ofZion's  Saviour,  Being  a  Relation  of  the 
first  Planting  on  New  England,  in  the  year  1628  (Massachusetts 
Historical  Collections,  2d  series,  Vol.  3,  page  123). 

An  Exact  and  most  Impartial  Accompt  oj  the  Indictment,  Arraignment, 
Trial,  and  Judgment  (according  to  Law)  of  nine  and  twenty 
Regicides,  the  Murtherers  Of  His  Late  Sacred  Majesty  Of  Most 
Glorious  Memory :  Began  at  Hicks-Hall  on  Tuesday,  the  9th  of 
October,  1660.  And  Continued  at  the  Sessions  House  in  the  Old- 
Bayley  until  Friday,  the  nineteenth  of  the  same  Moneth.  Together 
with  a  Summary  of  the  Dark  and  Horrid  Decrees  of  those 
Caballists  Preparatory  to  that  Hellish  Fact.  Exposed  to  view 
for  the  Reader's  Satisfaction,  and  Information  of  Posterity. 
Imprimatur ;  John  Berkenhead :  London,  Printed  for  Andrew 
Crook  at  the  Green  Dragon  in  St  Paul's  Church -yard,  and  Edward 
Bonsel  at  the  White-Swan  in  Little-Britain,  1660. 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


